Arachnid Hero and the Fox Host
by SpinLord
Summary: Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Sandman and Venom... Spiderman had already defeated them one by one. But even fate wouldn't let him grieve the death of his best friend, Harry Osborn. Madam Web decided to send her disciple to Konoha. Mainly NaruSaku. RewriteofWSMF!
1. Prologue

**This is my first fanfic! Please tell me how you think about it. Heck, flamers are expected here as long as you're ready for equally harsh fire extinguishers ._.v**

**Haha just joking folks. Anyways enjoy the fic!**

**I made this fanfiction's storyline to start after Spiderman 3 movie. But here, Spiderman has already known Madam Web and already joined the Avengers. So don't get worked up! Also, the storyline for Naruto is after the mission to save Gaara. I know, I know. Somehow the timeline is a bit unreal, but then again, this IS fanfiction.**

'**kay,now for the disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto or Spiderman. If I did, Naruto's ramen addiction would come to an end.**

**Extra Note: This version is revised since parts of this chapter is wrong. I'm doing this to every chapter I'm reposting, so keep your heads up for old chapters being reposted. By the way, I'm changing this story's name! For this chapter: Prologue, I'm changing the name of the seal Madam Web used on Spiderman. Please look closely!  
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**xoxoxo**

Presented by

SpinLord

Humbly given to readers wherever you are

**_Arachnid Hero and the Fox Host_**

A Naruto-Spiderman crossover fanfic

**Prologue**

**Time to Move**

From above, a figure was swinging on a web line. A red and blue clad hero who had saved New York three times from a crazy goblin, a metal-octopus, a man out of a sandbox, and some sort of black symbiotic alien which looks like play-dough. Okay, if all of those details were still not enough for you, let's face it. You need more time seeing Spiderman out there. While swinging like this, he could see all things from above, danger or not (of course, he's swinging from tall buildings after all). He stopped on one building construction site, the one where he had what could be said the most life-threatening battle. He then sighed, sitting down. He opened his mask, revealing his face; the face that belongs to Peter Parker. 'Looks like no super-baddies are showing up anytime soon.' He sighed again, 'Good. I really need some time off after...everything.'

With narrowed eyes, the young Parker jumped one floor down, landing swiftly. He looked around, as if taking in the sight as a whole. The wrecked pillars, the chunks of rubble from the previous fight...he chuckled. The place had became some sort of monument. The builders that once worked here preserved the site, saying that this place holds one of the greatest battles of their city's protector. Ironic, it seemed. When people saw it as a monument, Peter saw it as a grave.

Memories of his best friend came back, bringing a lot of pain. Harry Osborn; one man, two names, the other being New Goblin. Harry was angered at the first time, knowing that Peter killed his father, Norman Osborn a.k.a The Green Goblin. But at theend, Harry was the one who saved Peter's life. That time, the battle against Venom and Sandman...it was pretty one-sided since it was practically two on one. If Harry didn't came, he was pretty sure that Spiderman would be no more. Unfortunately, Harry was killed by Venom in that battle, stabbed by his own glider.

Yet another ironic thing, the way he died. It was practically the same way his father died; by the blades of their own glider. 'If only I was faster that time…Harry would still be here.'

The death of Harry also affects Peter's only love, Mary Jane Watson. The three of them were best friends, even after graduation. When one of them dies...well, it hurts both people left behind. 'MJ's face looked horrible when that happened.'Peter's eyes turned reddish, almost starting to drop some tears.

That's when Madam Web appeared, startling him. To be described, she's an old lady with short purple hair, wearing a set of red-rimmed black goggles, sitting on a hovering chair-thingy wearing a long dark red robe with a big white spider logo on it. As usual, the old lady still has a knack for making an entrance. As in, she was somehow able to reap the sky and make a hole to come out. "Hello, Spiderman. We meet again." Madam Web looked into Peter's eyes, noticing the reddish eyes.

"Starting to cry again?" She asked, suddenly curious.

"Nope, I just found some broken contact lenses and I tried it on. MAN, it hurts!" The youngster joked.

It's never easy to get serious with Spiderman, even when he was upset.

"I have something for you to do. And it's serious. So I'd appreciate if you stop joking."

Peter grinned before put his mask back on.

"So, what is it? Am I going to walk the dogs or clean up the attorney's table? Not that I'm saying that you're an attorney." He joked once more.

Madam Web sighed. Her apprentice is one heck of a peanut gallery. "This may be sudden, but...I've been contacted by a friend of mine. I'm going to send you to Japan, to help out a village."

"Japan? So I'll help some sushi chefs in the village?" (Yup, what a joker)

"Not exactly, you'll be helping some ninjas in that village." She made a decision that it will be faster that she talk to the point.

Not expecting the foreign word enter his ears, Spiderman gaped, "NINJA? Sorry, Madam. But I'm not so familiar with ninjas. Try Daredevil. He's the pro on ninja stuffs like this." At this point,Spiderman jumped into serious mode.

She smiled, "Your comrade Daredevil cannot do this, Spiderman, since he does not possess the power of the spider. Like the one within you. But that's not the real deal now." She paused for a moment.

"I've seen your battle with Venom and Sandman before. And I'd say that you will need more power to do this."

'More? Isn't the radioactive spider biteenough?' Spiderman thought for a moment.

"Which is why I'm here."

As she says that, they were teleported somewhere else. By Spiderman's experience, he already knew where he is; _Arachnid Chamber._It was Madam Web's hideout, also where she first trained him. It was near undetectable, so much that Spiderman thought that Arachnid Chamber resided in another dimension.

"Why am I here? If I'm going to Japan you should've teleported me to the airport." He looked around, searching for Madam Web only to found her standing in front of a giant cage.

"We'll need to make preparations first. I've told you that you will need more power, that's why I'm giving you him-" As she talked, something big cut off her words.

"**Hey, I'm not an object, you senile old hag!"** The voice bellowed. Spiderman shivered as the voice even made the ground tremble when it spoke, 'Whatever, or whoever that might be he sure has no manners' He thought.

"Sorry for my inappropriate vocabulary. Now if I may continue… Spiderman, this is _**Raibi**_. He's a tailed-beast, or a _Bijuu_ in Japanese". Spiderman is left speechless. The aura of the beast is horrible, making him tremble. "Please, refrain on fearing him. Contrary to anyone's belief, he's not as bad as his brothers and sisters."

"**I'll take that as a compliment, **_**baa-chan.**_**" **The voice seemingly growled.

Spiderman shivered. 'What is that thing? And what the hell does Madam meant by "not as bad"? This guy got siblings?'

"What does this have to do with giving me more power?" He finally asked.

Madam Web turned her face to the beast, she called Raibi. 'Heck, that's a strange name.' Spiderman thought. "I am going to seal him inside you, that way you will be more powerful than you ever imagined." Madam Web said.

"**You're going to seal me in him? Tch, this is going to be trouble"** Raibi growled; seems that he doesn't like the idea as much as Spiderman does.

"Seal him in me? How would that make a change?" As he says that,Madam Web raised both her arms towards Raibi's cage.

"You'll know soon enough".

The cage opened, revealing a giant wolf with blue fur while some white fur covers his under belly. And nine tails, which strangely looked like they were made from lightning. From around its eyes to its ears black fur sprouted out. While the eyes itself was deep green. 'Guess that's why she calls him **Lightning Tail**. Heh, I'm grateful that Aunt May told me to have Japanese lessons in college.'

"Be ready, Spiderman. And prepare yourself!" She moved her hand towards Spiderman,throwing Raibi towards him.

"_Ten__c__hi Mon no Fuuin Jutsu_ (_Heaven-Earth Gate Sealing_ _Jutsu_)!" She cried out some words that Spiderman don't completely understand.

In a flash, Spiderman was hit back to a wall behind him. "What the-?" He was ready to pass out...until he felt the heating flare up inside him. It didn't hurt him, but he did felt different. Like taking in a ton of caffeine, his heart was beating fast.

"The sealing is done. How do you feel?" She asked.

"Like a…_Jinchuuriki_. Whoa, what did I just said?" He stammered. He said a word he didn't even know about.

'**Guess your brain is taking me rapidly. Keh,****you're not so weak after all'. **Spiderman heard a voice. He followed the familiar voice, which strangely led him to his inner realm. There's a cage. And inside that cage he found the same beast that Madame Web threw him with.

'Huh? Hey, what are you doing inside my head?'

'**What every **_**bijuu**_** is doing after they were sealed in they're **_**jinchuriki.**_** After all that **_**baachan**_** said that she was going to seal me in you, wasn't she?'**

"Spiderman, since Raibi is inside you, you will have full control over your black suit." Madam Web said.

Spiderman stiffened.

"What do you mean? I've dumped it before".

"Along with Raibi, I've sealed your black suit too. In time, you can make a use of it."

Peter's body shook. Before, he threw away that nasty symbiote suit, which turns into Venom after merging with Eddie Brock. He didn't want to have it anymore.

"I DON'T NEED THAT SUIT!" Peter yelled.

"You will, in time." Madam Web calmly said.

"That suit KILLED Harry! I swore myself I would never use that suit!"

Madame Web sighed, "You will learn, Spiderman, that sometimes it's not enough only with your own power. Besides, like I've told you, you will have FULL control over the black suit."

Peter growled. He never needed that suit. He would never use that suit.

"You're ready, Spiderman. I'll send you to the Land of Fire now. From there, ask anyone on the streets about the location of the Hidden Leaf Village, _Konohagakure__. _It's pretty popular among the people there. "As she said this, she did some hand-seals. Similar to the ones she used to teleport Spiderman to this chamber.

Peter got a little calmed down, 'I guess I do need some time away. *sigh*, MJ's too sad to be bothered anyway.'

"Oh, well. I do need some vacation after all. Just tell Aunt May about this will you? And tell Cap that the Avenger's gonna lose their teammate for a while." He remembered the first time he went out to the library without asking to Aunt May, and when Captain America found him in Peter's classroom snoring until midnight.

"Leave that to me."

And with clap of her hand, Spiderman was teleported away.

End of Prologue

**xoxoxo**

**Aaaaand the first chapter is finished.**

**Boy, took me two days to finish this one,and there's many more coming.**

**If I'm able to sell these things,I'll make a fortune!**

**Maybe some of you Spidey fans might wonder why in the world would he tipped MW to talk to Aunt May. Maybe since The M Woman knew ab****o****ut ol' Pete's identity. Who knows? Maybe it's right.**

**p.s: in the future,expect this corner to be having **_**jutsu **_**description.**

**And anyways, review!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Here,italic words means Japanese**

**And when you feel the characters a bit OOC,feel free to rub it on my face until my whole skin is reddish-white.**

**Disc,:I still do not own Naruto or Spiderman or any other characters in both story. **

**Extra Note: This version is revised since parts of this chapter is wrong. I'm doing this to every chapter I'm reposting, so keep your heads up for old chapters being reposted. By the way, I'm changing this story's name!**

**xoxoxo**

**Chapter 1**

**Arrival!**

**The Chuunin Exam (Again)**

A set of sapphire-colored eyes stared at the sky, which was blue as his. The owner of the pair of eyes, was in fact a blond teenager, laying down on a facial stone sculpture made on a hill, the fourth one from the left. The silence was soothing. Only a flock of birds flying in the distance disturbing his rest. In the silence, the blond's mind was elsewhere, thinking about the past. A painful one, to be precise.

One would think that, if one sees the vibrant smile the teen gave to others, none of his past could be so painful. Unfortunately, that would be the fact; his smiles were too vibrant, too cheerful for it to be real. It was a mask; carefully sculptured and designed so that no one could see past it. Because in truth, he was hurting, thanks to a friend of his who had betrayed him as well as his village.

There was only one other person able to fathom his pain, and said person was the only one the blond would let his rest broken by. Actually, that was exactly what said person was doing, right now.

"_Oi, Naruto! You can't sleep here! Not on the Hokage Monument__.__"_ A girl with short pink hair which were jagged at the ends, about his age called, hisname._ "Not only you'll catch a cold by the winds here, you're also disrespecting the Hokage!"_

"_I'm not sleeping, Sakura-chan… I'm just taking a nap!"_ Naruto said.

"_What's the difference, BAKAAA!"_ Sakura—true to her hair color as it was to her name—made a comical blank-eye and swung her fist towards Naruto's face. _"AAAHHIIIIII!"_ screamed Naruto while he fly upwards, thanks to Sakura's uppercut. We all know that she has a monstrous power, so it took a while until Naruto finally came back down.

"_H__aaah...Baka. I've been looking for you for like an hour or so. Tsunade-shishou called us for a meeting.__"_ She sighed, finding it hard to believe for even herself that she had to beat the crap out of her teammate every once in a while.

"_Aw, Sakura-chan. Cut me some slack,__will you? Tsunade-baachan __maybe __just wanted to scold me because I ate 10 bowls of ramen at Ichiraku Ramen__, a__nd still made old man Teuchi put it in my tab__. In my opinion, just let the Granny rant alone.__"_He grinned when he said that, which just served to anger Sakura more.

But she had to hold herself. She couldn't just keep hitting Naruto all day, that won't make any progress. She grabbed his hand and none too gently dragged him to the Hokage's office.

"_Come on, Tsunade-sama has something to talk about__.__"_ She said. She was so frustrated that she didn't notice that Naruto was blushing when she grabbed his hand.

**xoxoxo**

Meanwhile, back to where Spiderman is…

'So let me ask you again, there are nine tailed beasts in the ninja history? How does that makes you the tenth?' Spiderman has been teleported near Konoha itself. Well, okay not so near after all. He was teleported to Tanzaku Town; the heaven on earth for you gamblers.

Didn't take him to long to know the exact position of the village without having to pay for the information. It's a surprise that a guy like him has a lot of luck up his sleeves, assuming he has any sleeves on that costume.

Along the way, Raibi has taught him some hand seals, Japanese language and ninja history. He guessed that Spiderman might need them in the future.

'**Well, to put it frank, I'm not the tenth.**** I'm not an original **_**bijuu**_**; ****I'm actually a copy of the real nine-tails,****or maybe the exact word is a clone.'**

'A clone, huh? And you're saying that we'll find the real one in this village?'

'**I'm positive on that one…Hey,****we're almost there. Remember,****just say to the guards that you're here to meet the Hokage. Don't take offensive actions!'**

Spiderman stood in front of the gate, which was opened. Strange, what if there's a stray wolf gets in. (no offense, Raibi)

Two guards appeared before him. Though peaceful, this village has security too. He, for one, wouldn't complain about the security, even if one of them had a messy, spiky hair and a bandage across his face on his nose. The other guy beside him looked plain; the only thing discerning him from the other guy being the way he covered his brown hair with a blue cloth.

'Now that I think about it, both of these guys wear the same blue cloth...and what's that insignia on the metal plate?' Spiderman's eyes squinted under the mask at the identical metal plates that were both on the blue cloth. Both the spiky-haired and the brunette wore them on the same place; their forehead. 'It...kinda looks like a leaf caligraph. Similar to the one on that art gallery that time.'

'**Why'd you think this village is named **_**Konohagakure no Sato**_** (Village Hidden in the Leaves)?'** Raibi muttered, annoyed.

The guards' face were dead serious. They regarded Spiderman with a neutral look, as the one with the bandaged-face said, _"State your name and business in this village."_

Spiderman frowned slightly. He was confident with his Japanese; what, with Raibi teaching him along the way. But he was born American, for crying out loud! Clicking his tongue, he tried to say what was in his mind.

"_Uhh...do I get to choose which one first? Ehehe."_ Came the reply in fluent Japanese. Spiderman blinked, then thought with the utmost confusion, 'Dafuq did I just said? I wasn't even trying to talk in Japanese!'

In his subconcious, his blue-furred tenant snorted, **'Oh, come on, you think being a Jinchuuriki won't mean you get the perks? Be thankful that my mind is hardwired to Japanese.'**

In the outside, Spiderman's mouth formed an 'o' shape, finally understanding what was happening with his tongue.

To his amusement, the guards looked flustered and confused by his question. One of them, the one with the bandana-like cloth covering his head, actually answered the question, _"Um, actually people would tell their names first."_ While his partner face-palmed.

"_Izumo, you're ruining the mood here! And here I thought we could greet a newcomer formally, like the other guards!"_ Said the bandaged-faced man with a scolding tone.

"_I couldn't help it, Kotetsu! I mean, he really looked like he was seriously asking about it! You would do the same if you were in my shoes, especially against someone wearing something from a cosplay."_

'Cosplay?' Thought Spiderman, anime sweatdrop visible on his forehead. He cleared his throat, _"*Ahem*. This is my outfit, thank you very much."_ He said sternly. He didn't particularly like it when people insult his costume, but he'd let it slide just this once. Raibi said not to take "offensive action", after all. _"Oh, but where are my manners? I haven't introduced myself. I go by many names, but my codename is Spiderman. I have a mission from my master to meet with your Hokage."_

"_Is that so? Godaime-sama hasn't said anything about expecting newcomers though. Are you sure?"_ Said Kotetsu, who suddenly narrowed his eyes, _"And how can we trust that you're not a spy?"_

Spiderman would've retorted at that, but he somewhat agreed with the ninja's statement. His costume was really screaming "spy" out loud, just by the looks of it. Tights weren't actually accepted as usual clothing by society. Still, _"Um...I don't have anything but my master's words to prove innocence."_

"_That won't be enough. Furthermore, we can't even trust you even if you're not a spy. What, with you wearing a mask and all, you look to suspicious."_ Izumo added.

Instinctively, Spiderman's gloved hand touched his mask. He frowned, invisibly due to the mask, when he looked at Izumo, _"This mask helps me shield my true identity. I'm sorry, but I won't be taking it off anytime soon. Just as you doubt my loyalty, I doubt yours."_

"_Well, if you're not removing your mask,"_ Kotetsu stepped back and dropped into battle stance, as did Izumo, _"You're not welcome in this village."_

"_I'm not removing my mask,"_ Spiderman said, dropping into his own battle stance, _"But I sure as hell won't go back empty-handed."_

The two pair of eyes of the Konoha gate guards bore through Spiderman's mask. Inside Spiderman's mind, he contacted his nine-tailed tenant, 'I guess we have to do "offensive actions" after all, huh Raibi?'

The blue-furred wolf sighed, **'So be it, then.'**

In a blink of an eye, both Chuunin guards dashed towards Spiderman with an inhuman speed. Slightly startled, Spiderman flinched but then regained his composure and vaulted over the two. Kotetsu saw through his movement, however, and flunged several kunai towards the masked stranger.

What happened, however, was not the kunai embedding itself in its target's flesh. Instead, Spiderman twirled his body ever so slightly in the air and dodged one of the small knife, missing it by a hair's breadth. _"He dodged it?"_ Kotetsu exclaimed in surprise. And, to further his surprise, the following kunais were blown back with several pinpointed web bullets coming out from Spiderman's wrists.

"_Are those...web?"_

When Spiderman eventually landed, he turned to dodge a combo of hook and jabs launched by his two adversary. Several of them cut close to him, prompting him to block instead. _"Well, well! I see you two have excellent teamwork!"_ He said in the middle of palming away several punches. He had to admit, they were damn fast. They were nothing like the small fries back in New York.

Both Kotetsu and Izumo flunged a kunai at the same time, targeting Spiderman's non-vital points. Spiderman grinned as he let the kunai came to him. He waited until the knives were just at arm reach from him before grabbing the kunais with his right and left hand. He laughed, _"You have to do better than that. I've dodged __**bullets **__for crying out loud. You can't beat me with simple circus knives."_

Kotetsu gritted his teeth. Those weren't "simple circus knives" as one would think. Those were kunai; ninja knives with adequate ability to pierce through someone's heart. But this stranger were handling them like it was nothing! _"Izumo...let's do __**that**__."_

In turn, Izumo frowned, _"Are you sure?"_

"_We can't let some stranger like him enter Konoha. Worst case scenario, that guy could be from Akatsuki."_

Spiderman tilted his head after hearing the foreign name, thinking, '_Akatsuki_? As in, Red Moon?'

'**That's the kanji for Dawn. They're an organization hell-bent on kidnapping Jinchuuriki, and doing who knows what to them.'**

'The hell? Does that mean they'll come after me?'

'**Remember, you're still a new Jinchuuriki. They don't know you, yet.'** Raibi said, scowling at his Jinchuuriki's idiocy.

Spiderman cut off the mental connection and was about to talk back to the two Chuunin guards when he saw them running towards him. The one with the bandage across his face pulled out a scroll, and somehow summoned a giant, shell-shaped mace with a chain linking its hilt to the conch shell. 'Where did that come from?'

The other one made several hand seals and yelled out, _"Suiton: Mizuame Nabara _(Water Style: Syrup Capturing Field)_!"_ Before spitting out a huge amount of transparent, sticky-looking liquid out of his mouth.

Spiderman cringed at the sight, _"Eww, gross!"_ He then jumped to avoid the torrent waves of the offending liquid. Unfortunately, much to his disgust, he eventually landed in the syrupish field. _"Now I'm standing in a lake of spit! Utter yuckness!"_ He tried jumping out from the sticky trap, only to find his leg immobile and sticking to the ground.

Kotetsu, seeing the opening, swung his large mace horizontally at Spiderman, intending to make him go unconcious. Unfortunately for him, Spiderman had already seen through this outcome. He ducked under the mace, making Kotetsu lose his balance. He snickered mischievously, before launching an uppercut to Kotetsu's chin making him fly back to where he came from.

"_Can't we be a little more diplomatic than this? Just a wee bit? Because this isn't how you treat a guest."_

Kotetsu had stood up once again, his face contorting into that of irritation, _"No guest would land a punch like that to us."_

"_Well, excuse me, but you attacked me first!"_ Spiderman pointed his finger at them, a tick of a nerve grew on his forehead.

"_He does has a point, Kotetsu."_

"_Shut up, Izumo!"_

Angrily, Kotetsu threw his shell mace towards Spiderman, letting it fly while the chain wrapped itself to his right arm for control. Seeing the mace thrown to him like Thor's hammer, Spiderman flinched, 'No doubt that'll also feel like Thor's hammer when it hits.' However, Spiderman wasn't weak, in any manner of senses. He pulled back his fist, waiting for the mace to come closer. As it came within his arm's reach, he punched forward. His fist met the hardened shell of the mace. And then...

The mace flew back to its owner. Pieces of the shell flew about and cracks formed where Spiderman's fist hit it.

Oh, and it was the first time that Orochimaru's jaw drop records were broken by two Chuunin.

"_What...the...fuck?"_

Spiderman rubbed his knuckles, a comical tear coming out of his mask's eye part, _"Seriously, OW! Just what the hell you use for that? Adamantium?"_ His question was ignored, however, because Izumo was too amazed to say anything while Kotetsu was visibly crying because his favorite weapon, the Conch Shell Mace, was practically shattered. _"My...my mace..."_ Anime tears were falling down from Kotetsu's eyes.

"_You...you're not human, are you?"_ Izumo asked, trembling in both awe and fear.

"_Well, I'm not __**normal**__, if that's what you're asking."_ Spiderman said, _"But enough of that, I really need to see the Hokage! If you won't let me through, then at least put someone to make sure I won't do anything fishy."_

Izumo stared at the masked person. What he said was logically right, and they could keep an eye on him as well. He sighed; he didn't have any choice but to release his jutsu's hold on him. _"Suiton: Mizu Ky uuin_ (Water Style: Water Suction)_!"_ The sticky syrup-like substance was sucked by Izumo, who breathed the liquid in as if it was air. He wiped his mouth, then looked at Spiderman straight in the eye, _"All right. I'll escort you to Hokage-sama's office. But I think I don't have to remind you what'll happen if you try anything funny."_

"_Oh, that'll be hard, because I'm a walking circus."_ Spiderman grinned.

As Spiderman walked pass Kotetsu, who was still crying pitifully beside his mace, he patted him on the shoulder and said, _"Been there, done that, got the T-shirt."_ Came the sagely advice of Spiderman before he followed Izumo inside the village.

**xoxoxo**

_In the Hokage's office…_

"_Baa-chan, what do you mean I have to be Chuunin to do this mission?"_ Naruto asked.

Tsunade summoned Naruto for a meeting, one that was actually connected with his next mission; in this case, the one to rendezvous with Sasori's spy at the Tenchi Bridge. Unfortunately, the mission itself was at least A-rank in level of difficulty. A-ranks were given to Jounin and high-level Chuunin. And since Naruto was, unfortunately, still a Genin, that posed a slight technical problem.

"_This mission requires a Chuunin to do it,__Naruto. The elders won't let a mere __G__enin to do this. Even after your training trip with Jiraiya__.__"_

"_But there's no way Sasuke's gonna sit and wait for us to finish another Chuunin exam! And this is the only chance of meeting up with him!"_

Tsunade sighed. Her shinobi-under-order is completely without patience. Especially when an Uchiha Sasuke was involved.

"_Naruto, I understand what you're saying. But I'm not only starting another exam just for you__.__"_ Tsunade said.

Naruto frowned,_ "Huh?"_

"_I've thought about how dangerous this mission is. So I sent a message of request to America__, preferably to an old ally of mine. Her student will be sent here to aid you and join your team.__"_

"_A new member? From America?",_Naruto gaped. America, contrary to popular belief, was almost like Atlantis to Konoha. To hear someone coming from there...well, that's not your early tea in the morning.

Tsunade sighed, _"__Yeah, __and you'll do well to behave yourselves. I've never met this person before, but you'll__ find the guy she sends pretty formidable__.__"_

"_Pardon me,__Tsunade-sama,__but just who is he?__ This new member, I mean.__"_Sakura asked. She was just as shocked as Naruto is, but bordered more on curiosity.

Tsunade looked out the window, _"__He is one of the member__s__ of the Avengers. I assume that you guys know about them. They have been saving their country dozens of times from people as strong as Akatsuki. So they are not to be underestimated"_.

If dumbfounded wasn't the appropriate expression on Naruto's face, then I don't know what else you'd call that look on his face.

"_Who're the Avengers?"_ he asked, resulting in a smack on the back of his head.

It would be a fact that the smack came from Sakura, _"Naruto-baka! Those guys are a bunch of super-strong guys that even rivaled the Kage's,__if possible. You can't possibly miss them! They're always on the news!"_ Sakura said in disbelief.

Naruto rubbed Sakura's victim of the day, which was the back of his head, _"__Thing is__my __TV__ broke down. __I h__a__ven't seen the news since, like, forever.__"_ He said while grinning nervously.

Sakura just shook her head and turned to Tsunade with dreamy eyes.

"_When will he get here?"_ Sakura asked with the enthusiasm of a nine-year old. _"Soon enough—__" _Just when Tsunade started, someone knocked on the door, _"Come in"_.

Surprisingly, it was Izumo who was asking permission to enter. However, he wasn't finished, _"Hokage-sama, we have someone wanting to speak with you."_ He stepped to the side and let the person behind him enter, before excusing himself. Seeing two of the village's most capable ninjas in the same room with the Hokage, he realized he didn't need to continue accompanying his escort. And so, he left. He could tell, none of them, other than Izumo himself, were expecting some tights-wearing cosplay maniac to enter the room.

Naruto's eyes widened. To him, Spiderman looked like a person with angry eyes and no mouth. It took him some minutes to figure that it's a costume. _'This is the amazing backup guy Tsunade-baachan talked about? __The hell is with his outfit?__!'_ Naruto thought.

Sakura on the other hand, blushed furiously. Well, after all Spiderman was wearing a tight spandex. Almost looked like a second skin if not for the red and blue colors and the web theme, to which her fan-girlish mind ran rampant of.

"_Aah,__you're here!__ I take it your journey was...eventful?__"_ Tsunade looked to him, grinning with glee.

"_To say it was 'eventful' would be the understatement of the year."_ Came the answer of the masked man. His eyes hovered towards the foreign people in front of him.

The first he had his eyes on was a blond, almost yellow-haired teenager. He noted, a boy around his 16's with triple whisker marks on each of his cheek and a black and orange jumpsuit, and a long black cloth that had the same metal plate like the guards from before. The cloth, however, was longer than what he deduced to be the standard issue of the forehead protector. On the left side of his sleeve there was a wooden spiral-shaped sculpture, which was pretty artistic. And on his back there's also a red spiral logo, the same one as the ones on the green vests of the earlier guards. 'Not sure if he got talents in hypnotism, or he's just trying to get out of the mainstream.' Spiderman thought while choosing neither one.

There's also a girl in the same age with a pink hair tied with what seems to be the same forehead protector—a red clothed one—which she used as a bandana. She wears a red sleeveless suit and a fading pink mini-skirt with a pair of black pants. The back of her suit had a white circle on it. She was using sandals, not unlike the one the previous boy wore. Hers, however, had a slightly higher heel and resembled that of a pair of boots because of the higher leg-covering.

'Uh, and they call themselves ninjas? Master of stealth and concealments? And I said Daredevil's costume was too flashy.' Spiderman thought, the face under his mask visibly sweat-dropped. He then looked at the woman sitting behind her desk.

"_But first things first; are you the Hokage?"_ Spiderman asked. He has to be extra careful; this was, after all, the leader of a ninja village. They could plow him to next generation if he be careless.

"_Indeed I am__. And I'm talking to who, exactly?__"_

"_Well,__that's a relief. My name's Spiderman__, official member of the Avengers and unofficial protector of New York City__. I'm here sent by Madam Web to help this village on something__, though she didn't explain the details.__"_ Spiderman said, introducing himself. He suddenly scratched the back of his head, _"Actually, she didn't explain anything, for that matter."_

The three ninjas in the room at Spiderman statement, unsure what to make of this predicament.

'_Madam Web? Heh,__Cynthia has a knack for making up names'_ Tsunade thought about her long past ally. Then she talks again, _"Thank you for coming on such a short notice. I'm sorry for the sudden invitation, but this is really urgent."_

Spiderman shrugged, _"I don't mind. I didn't have anything to do back home, anyway. I gotta say, this village here is really the jaw-dropper. And the guards had gave me..."_ He cringed, remembering the fight, _"A rather warm welcome."_

Tsunade smiled at him, _"Good__ to hear that. Now,__ let me introduce you to the people you will be working with. The pink-haired girl over there is Haruno Sakura,__my apprentice and one of my trusted kunoichi__. She'll be the medic of your team.__"_

"_Hi,__pleased to meet you__.__"_ Sakura said, well, sheepishly. Naruto didn't notice it, fortunately for anyone in the room.

"_Pleased to meet you too,__Sakura__.__"_Spiderman nodded acknowledgingly at her. The fact that Spiderman called her name without any suffix (-sama,-san,or –chan) kinda stings Naruto in his brain nerves. Well, Spiderman had no idea about this suffix thing, so he was not to blame.

"_And the boy with the blonde hair there is Uzumaki Naruto,__my trauma and one of my daily headache amplifier__. He'll be the troublemaker of your team.__"_ Tsunade joked. Well, that's no joke to Naruto; literally.

"_NAAANNNIIII? Why does Sakura-chan gets all the credits and I get the bad names?"_ Naruto comedically made a blank-eye,mouth-drop expression.

Spiderman trembled, ready to burst to laugh, _"__Well, __I __guess there's a reason for calling you a headache amplifier. And I noticed that you're the only ninja which wear orange in broad daylight!"_

"_Well what kind of guy wears red and blue tights in broad daylight? It's hysterical!"_Naruto yelled, hearing his favorite color being bad-mouthed at.

"_Now, now, __Naruto__. You__ guys are going to work together from now on. So behave__.__"_Tsunade scolded. Frankly, the idea of putting in two peanut galleries on the same team was horrid enough that Tsunade, despite her respect for her ally, had second thoughts. But it can't be helped if Spiderman was the prized apprentice she had heard about from her ally.

"_Whoa__. M__e__,__ working with this blonde crazy-whiskers here? __That doesn't sound cool.__"_Spiderman said, ignoring the hatred glare sent off by Naruto towards him.

"_All right, enough of that. Spiderman, in case you haven't known about this, your first assignment is to complete a test."_ Seeing Spiderman giving no sign of response, Tsunade continued, _"It's a test to rise up to the rank of Chuunin. You'll need to do this before I give you the real mission, the one I requested you to do. And, in this test, you'll team up with Naruto."_

"_With here? Are you kidding me?"_

"_No, I'm not kidding you. This is real, because no Genin are allowed to take the mission. And you're officially still a Genin, here. Heck, you haven't officially graduated from the Ninja Academy."_

Spiderman sighed. So what, he could kick a green devil-incarnate's ass but he was considered a small fry in this village? Now that's just plain rude. But if to take on a test was the order of his client, then take on a test he will.

"_Well,__those are you're orders__. I've already enlisted you two into the Chuunin Exams. Now, move on, the lot of you.__"_Tsunade dismissed all of them and they all went out.

**xoxoxo**

"_I can't believe that I'm stuck on doing the exam with the crazy __bug-__head __over here.__"_ Naruto complained. Sakura took a deep breath and exhaled it. It's hard to cooperate with Naruto in a bad mood. It didn't help that the reason he was in a bad mood was because Spiderman mocked the color orange.

"_Alright let me get something straight. First off,__spiders are arachnids. Secondly,__what I'm doing are orders from my mentor so it's not like I'm doing this because I want to__.__"_ Spiderman snapped. His mood wasn't so much better, either, as his problem was he gets irritated every time someone mistakes spiders as bugs.

"_Like I care about that!__ If you'__re in the right state of mind, you wouldn't wear that thing!__"_Naruto pointed to Spiderman's costume.

"_But I like my costume. It's my trademark__, and I work day and night to make it.__"_ Spiderman said adamantly. Well, he did made his costume by himself. The design, the type of cloth, heck he even sewed it himself! _"I have to agree with Naruto on this one__. You__ could set a girl__'__s head on fire__.__"_ Sakura suddenly said.

Spiderman frowned, _"__Meaning…?"_

Sakura pointed at a random girl which was blushing mad when she looked at Spiderman. That, Spiderman could understand. His behavioral experience told him that people tend to blush when seeing the opposite sex's physique. In his case, his costume was almost like a second skin. However, he shivered when another random person, this time a woman in her 30's, eyed him like a piece of meat while licking her lips.

He sweat-dropped, 'I don't think ninjas are the ones I should be wary of in this place.'

"_You're right,__ terribly are. But__ I don't have a 'fashionista' label strapped on my forehead. Any ideas?"_

At this point, Sakura smiled; which from Naruto's point of view, an evil smile, _"I have just the thing!"_ Naruto shivered. He couldn't stop to think what might happen if he didn't stop Sakura from playing dress up on Spiderman. _"Uh,__Sakura-chan,__I don't think that that's a good__—"_ But Spiderman waved him off.

"_Naruto,__what I need is a change of fashion style.__ Something that can at least divert someone's sight away from me.__ And I accept any ideas,__ of any kind, __from any person__.__"_ Spiderman, too frightened by the idea of him getting chased by rabid women, complied.

Naruto just stared disbelievingly at Spiderman, wondering whether the idiot knew about the imminent danger that was to come, _"You're gonna regret this,__webhead__.__"_ Naruto said, almost feeling sorry for Spiderman.

**xoxoxo**

_Eventually…_

"_Me and my __enormous mouth__…"_ Spiderman cursed, now understanding what Naruto meant before. And he regretted the fact that he didn't listen to the blond.

It's been half an hour since they browsed through Konoha's clothes shop. And Sakura has been choosing clothes after clothes for Spiderman to try on. But of course, his mask wasn't taken off. _"You didn't tell me that it was going to be this bad! And I thought ninjas don't have time to be playing dress-up!"_ Spiderman whined. He was now wearing a v-necked t-shirt and a pair of torn jeans, looking like a homeless hobo.

"_I've told you it was a bad idea,__baka__.__"_ Naruto scoffed. He didn't really care about Spiderman's unluckiness. But deep down, he just couldn't stand and see someone got trapped in Sakura's dress up game. His indifference slowly became pity over time, as he saw Sakura pushing Spiderman into the changing room, only to fetch him another set of unmatching clothes when he came back out.

"_Just tell Sakura-chan what kind of clothes you want__. __She's actually pretty sharp in these kind of things, and I'm pretty sure this shop sells some custom-made outfit.__"_Naruto suggested.

"_*sigh*I'll try__.__"_

Surprisingly, when Spiderman told Sakura what he wanted for an outfit, she found some matching clothes. And to further his surprise, Naruto wasn't kidding when he said "custom-made"

"_So? Try it on, already!"_ Sakura said, pushing the masked hero back in the changing room. Seated just a few feet away from the changing room, Naruto sweat-dropped. _"Sakura-chan, are you sure we got it right, this time?"_

"_Of course I am! You can't underestimate a woman's intuition, especially in sense of fashion!"_

Naruto said under his breath, _"That's what you said for the past miss-matching set of clothes."_ He was fortunate enough that Sakura didn't hear his statement, otherwise she would've plowed his face in.

Several minutes of sounds of rustling clothes later, Spiderman emerged from the changing room, looking significantly better than before. He now wore a short-sleeved black jacket with extra breastpockets, the bottom of the jacket reaching his waist in length. Sakura took the liberty to ask the shop's tailor to quickly imprint a red spider insignia on the back of the jacket, just like Spiderman's costume underneath it. For the legs, he wore a pair of loose, dark blue jeans buckled up with a black belt. And whereas Spiderman usually walked bare foot with only his costume's thin fabric to make a non-existent gap between him and the ground, now he wore a pair of black ninja sandals; similar to those worn by Naruto and Sakura.

'Naruto wasn't kidding when he said this shop sells custom-made outfit.' Spiderman thought, though he was pretty sure that the jacket was only a normal jacket before the tailor used God-knows-what technique to imprint the spider sign on its back.

"_Now THAT'S what we've been waiting for! A fitting set of clothes!"_ Naruto exclaimed, throwing his arms up in relief.

"_So,__ what__ do you think? Am I a __fashion__ master or what?"_ Sakura exclaimed herself, proud that her choice of clothes looked right on Spiderman.

Spiderman looked down on his clothes, personally amazed that they somehow fit quiet nicely. _"Wow...I'm genuinely surprised. Whose idea was it to print out an exact copy of the spider insignia on the jacket?"_

Sakura grinned, _"That would be...who was it again? Oh, of course, that was my idea!"_

Spiderman chuckled at the pink-haired girl's unique behavior, _"Dang, you really know my taste Sakura. Thanks a lot!"_

However, as they walked to the cashier to pay up for the clothes...Spiderman's eyes would've jumped out of their sockets had his mask didn't hold it in. _"My money is worthless, here?"_ The cashier nodded frightfully. Yes, the usual inter-state currency problems finally kicked in. No bunch of fine dollars worth shit in Konoha, where the papers of Ryou dominates the economies.

"_I'm afraid I can't take that money, good sir."_ The cashier said.

"_Shut up and take my money!__1__"_ Spiderman said, fisting up a good amount of dollars to the cashier's face.

"_No means no, sir. If you have a credit card, that would help."_

"_You don't say?__2__"_ Spiderman sarcastically said. His face was actually dripping with sarcasm, so much that Naruto and Sakura sweat-dropped.

Finally, Sakura gave up, _"Oh, all right! I'll pay up for your clothes, Spiderman, but only this once!"_ Spiderman looked at Sakura as if she was an angel who descended from the heavens, giving up her money to pay the devil. _"I promise, Sakura, after I go to a money changer I WILL pay you back!"_

Sakura smiled. The smile, however, was none too gentle and neither was it a sweet one. _"I'm expecting two times of the amount I'm loaning you."_

At this, several reactions appeared differently on everyone's faces. Naruto snickered, desperately trying to hold the laughter that had accumulated inside him. The cashier guy looked at Spiderman, and although he sympathize Spiderman's luck, he couldn't say no to money. Spiderman, however...

'Not sure if I'm being saved...or I'm just being trolled.3' He thought pitifully. Inside his mental world, Raibi could only shake his head at his Jinchuuriki's predicament.

"_All right, now since that problem is settled, we need to solve the next one."_ Sakura said. She cupped her chin and thought; what was it that Spiderman was missing? _"Ah! That's right, you need weapons!"_

"_Weapons? As in, ninja weapons? The throwing stars and pointy knives and such?"_ Spiderman asked curiously.

"_Yup."_

"_Hmmm..."_ Spiderman had to admit, Sakura had a point. If he were to join a ninja exam, he needed the equipments. But...doesn't that meant they'll need too buy one? And with Spiderman's debt to Sakura—which was already the amount he had to pay for his apartment rent—he would go broke soon enough.

"_Erm...I don't think I need tho—"_

"_So, isn't Tenten's shop that way, Sakura-chan?"_ Naruto said. He cut Spiderman between his sentence on purpose, just so he could see the mask-wearing freak suffer a bit more. Well, okay, a LOT more.

"_It sure is. Come on, let's go!"_ Without further a do, Sakura ran away from her previous spot towards her designated location; which, Spiderman assumed, would be the weapon shop. Naruto followed after, leaving Spiderman behind to curse his bad luck.

"_God...why, oh why am I sent here? I've done nothing wrong to be the receiving end of karma."_ Spiderman thought aloud. _"Hey, don't leave me behind!"_ He yelled as he chased the two hell-bringers he was accursed to be with.

**xoxoxo**

_Leaf Blades..._

A shop that held almost 80% of the overall weapons Konoha ninja used. A shop, which name was known all over the Land of Fire itself as the best weapon store. A shop that had funded Konoha's economics since the early age of the founding of the Hidden Leaf Village itself.

A shop, which would be Spiderman's highway to hell.

"_Do we really need to buy weapons? I'm actually fine with my fists and feet."_ Spiderman complained.

"_Nah, this is one thing you need in case you get caught up in a fight with another ninja."_ Naruto said, _" 'sides, you won't be able to do much with only your fists and feet."_

"_...only because you said so."_

"_Why are you getting so wrapped up?"_ Sakura said, scoffing, _"I'm the one paying for your stuffs, Spiderman. No need to make a fuss out of it."_

"_The fact that I'll need to pay up double the amount is veeery reassuring, Sakura."_ The masked man pouted.

Sakura ignored Spiderman's remark and pushed the wooden door open, excusing herself in. She was greeted with an almost automatic, _"Welcome to our shop."_ Which was carried by a familiar voice. She looked up and saw a girl roughly her age sitting behind a counter. The girl's look of boredom was immediately swapped with a cheery look as the girl grinned, supposedly towards our unlikely group.

"_Sakura, Naruto! It's great to see you!"_ The girl said. She stood up from her seat and walked towards them.

As she did, Spiderman took an observational look at her. The girl's style looked strangely similar to that of Chinese. From her hair, she tied it into twin buns; each on the upper back of her head, while several lazy strands framed her face. Her torso was covered with a white chinese-style kimono, which had yellowish lining on the edges. She also wore a pair of red pants—undoubtedly chinese-style as well (And I'm not being racist here.)—that only reached her ankles.

Sakura smiled at the girl, _"It's great to see you, too, Tenten."_

Tenten returned the smile with equal heartiness. Her eyes travelled to the back of the pack (Hey, that rhymed!) and eventually landed on Spiderman. She raised an eyebrow questioningly, _"Who's the cosplay dude?"_

Spiderman's eyebrow twitched, annoyance rising up to his masked face, _"This is not cosplay, mind you."_

"_This is Spiderman, he's a member of the Avengers. You know, those costumed heroes on TV?"_ Sakura said, to which Tenten gaped at. _"For real? I thought you were just someone cosplaying as him!"_

"_My costume is a one and only work of art. I don't think anyone could copy it, therefore there can't be someone cosplaying as me."_ Spiderman stated. Tenten chuckled, _"Well, ninjas apparently can. I saw them on sale earlier this day."_

"_On sale?"_ Spiderman frowned, his eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. _"Mm-hmm. And not just your costume; there's even a Daredevil costume in the shop. Plus, my dad's working on a shield based off from Captain America's design and an armor based off from Iron Man's suit's design."_

"_Woah, woah! Hold on here, I'm feeling a bit exposed here."_ Spiderman said, waving his hands in front of him, _"The Avengers are supposed to be a discreet team of superheroes. You telling me that you guys have been watching us?"_

Sakura scoffed beside him, _"You make it sound like we're stalking you. No, we just watch the news. Some of us idolized you guys too much that people started making costumes like yours."_ As Spiderman opened his mouth to question further, Sakura turned away from him, _"By the way, Tenten, Spiderman needs some ninja tools. He's participating in the Chuunin Exams, and he doesn't have any weapons."_

"_Oooh, hero AND a ninja, now? It's a shame I would be working here when the main event starts." _She said apologetically, _"I have just the thing! I'll grab the beginner set. In the meantime, feel free to look around!"_ Tenten then went to the back of the room, where she pushed a metal door and went inside.

While Sakura and Naruto entertained themselves by browsing through the weapon store, Spiderman was deep in thought. 'How come they know so much about the Avengers while we don't know anything about them? And Tenten said that her dad is making shields and armor like that of Cap and Tony. Just who the hell are these guys?'

A voice thundered in his subconcious, **'You forget? They're ninjas; knowing about other people while keeping themselves hidden is what they do. Things as trivial as an overgrown group of metahumans shouldn't be so far out of their radar.'** Raibi paused for a moment, letting his words sunk deep into Spiderman's logic, **'I sense suspicion in you. Do not worry, the ninjas won't do anything to the Avengers. In terms of individual power, they're still below your stronger members. But I seriously doubt the possibility that they would attack you.'**

'So we can trust them?' Spiderman thought back.

'**Yeah. After all, they're actually not that hostile towards you and your friends. Quiet the contrary, even. All thanks to Web-baachan.'**

Spiderman's eyes widened in surprise, 'Wait a minute, you're saying that Madam Web is connected with all this?'

Before Raibi could answer, Naruto's voice brought Spiderman out of his reverie, _"Woah, look at this sword! It looks like it can cut you just by looking. Ouch!"_

"_Idiot, that's because you're touching it!"_ Sakura shouted. Spiderman blinked and looked at the two. Naruto had a cut on his finger caused by him tracing his finger along the sword he was looking. Sakura hurriedly grabbed his hand and put her other hand in front of the wounded finger. Next thing that happened was a bright green light glowed around her hand, and Naruto's cut visibly closing.

'Healing powers? And not just any healing; she's able to use it on other people. That's quite handy.' Spiderman thought.

As he looked at the two first people he first befriended in this village, he couldn't help but doubt himself. As Naruto cowered under Sakura's glare—no doubt that Sakura was scolding him—he just thought, 'Maybe they're harmless, after all.'

He smiled, a strange sense of relief washed over him. He turned his head and looked around, unconciously going further in the shop. Many foreign, yet deadly weapons were put on display, just like high-heeled shoes in a shoe store would. From kunai to shuriken to chain-scythes, though Spiderman looked bored as ever. _"These things are pretty much the mainstream weapons. Elektra had some of these..." _He muttered. He was pretty much unimpressed; if these were the only weapons a ninja would use, he prefer not to bring any weapons at all. Where were the means to survive a zombie apocalypse? Where was the Uzi, the AKs, bazooka and ninja swords? Oh wait, the last one was on display right here.

Eventually, though, his eyes landed on a curious choice of weapon. From observation, it looked like a thick plate of metal with a sharp edge on one side and a ring, big enough for a man's hand to go through, on one end. On closer inspection, he realized that, rather than a thick plate of metal, it was like four blades stacked up and tied by a ring. _"What's this?"_ Out of curiosity, he grabbed the weapon and tried holding it like a dagger, only to realize that it was both too heavy and too big to be used as a dagger.

He stared confusingly at the weapon, _"Dafuq am I using?"_

"_That's a Fuumashuriken _(Demon Wind Shuriken)_."_ A voice answered. The voice was gruff, and it sounded slightly muffled. He turned around and was greeted with the sight of a tall, muscular man in his mid-forties, wearing a white apron and was surprisingly smoking a stick of cigar. _"Unique choice of weapons you got, there. You a weapon-user?"_

Spiderman chuckled nervously, slightly intimidated by the taller man, _"No, sir, I'm just looking around."_ He said.

"_Shame. And that little baby is one of my personal favorite, too. I made it, after all."_ He said, breathing out a puff of smoke. Spiderman blinked, realizing that the man was the shop's blacksmith.

"_Say, you said that this is a...Fuumashuriken? It doesn't look like a shuriken, more like a butcher's blade."_ Spiderman asked, which prompted the older man to raise an eyebrow curiously. _"You're not from around here, are you, lad?"_

"_Well, no, in fact I just got here. Why?"_

The cigar-smoking man stepped forward and chuckled, _"Everyone know about this type of shuriken. It's called Fuumashuriken because it's practically bigger than the normal shuriken. This here, is another type of Fuumashuriken, called Kagefusha _(Shadow Windmill)_."_

Spiderman eyed the weapon carefully, _"How do you use it?"_

"_Here, let me show you."_ The older man gestured for Spiderman to lend him the weapon. As Spiderman handed him the weapon, the smith grabbed it by the ring and told him to step back, which he did. The smith then grinned, before raising his hand in front of him. His right arm suddenly jerked as his grip tightened at the ring and, as if by command, the blades swirled around like a windmill. Spiderman was shocked at first, before calming down a bit when the blades were in their position; one of them had its tip facing to the right, one to the left, one facing the ground and one facing upwards.

"_That's how you activate it. And to use it,"_ The blacksmith paused a second, before his mouth broke into a grin, _"Well, you let it fly into your target's guts."_

"_Freaking awesome..."_ Spiderman let out, unable to say anything else. He looked up from the oversized shuriken, _"So in a sense we just throw it? Sounds pretty easy."_ He commented. 'And the size is roughly the same as Cap's shield.' He added mentally. He tilted his head curiously when the blacksmith shook his head negatively. _"Not just throw it. As I said, you need to let this baby fly."_

"_The heck does that suppose to mean?"_

"_The meaning is the same as the words, lad. To actually use this Fuumashuriken, you'll need to think of it as a living object and let it fly on its own. This ain't no piece of metal that you 'just throw'. You do that, and you'll end up getting thrown along with it."_ The blacksmith raised his hand holding the big shuriken, _"It may look light, but this baby weighs more than it looks."_

Spiderman looked thoughtful for a moment. He was quite impressed by the passion behind the blacksmith's words. He must be really proud of his creations, that he was sure of. He wasn't able to voice his thoughts, however, as Tenten emerged from the back room, carrying what seemed like a plain, cream-colored pouch the size of his palm.

"_Dad, don't get lost in your own world! Spiderman's barely following you through your rant."_ She said.

At this, Spiderman gaped. 'Dad'? Then that means...

"_Tenten, one must grasp the concept of weapons. Not to think of them as tools, but as extention of their own body! That is the essence of being a weapon-user!"_ Tenten's father pointed, his speech filled with inner passion. But seriously, his eyes actually flamed up when he said that.

"_Yes, you have taught me about that years ago. Seriously, you sounded like Gai-sensei when you talk like that."_ Tenten then turned to Spiderman with an apologetic look on her face, _"Sorry about that. My dad tends to go into ranting-mode every time he speaks about his weapons."_

"_I can sympathize with that."_ Spiderman said, thinking back about the time he mocked the Punisher's set of weapons. He shook his head, clearing the image of the ever dangerous hunter who was still out for his head, _"So, uh...this is your dad?"_

Tenten nodded proudly, _"You're right on the bullseye!"_

"_Kureuzu Kurogane, at your service!"_ The elder male bellowed, pride evident in his tone. Spiderman raised his eyebrow curiously after hearing the elder male's name, _"Your surname...it sounds foreign."_

Surprisingly, the blacksmith laughed. He grinned at the masked man in front of him, _"Why, yes it does! It's because my ancestors are not from around here. My great grandfather, and his grandfather before him, came from a distant land. It was several decades from the forming of the Elemental Nations. My great-great grandfather was once a blacksmith himself. Legend has it that he forged armors and weapons for the mages of that time, and his brand of armor was the favorite of one female mage__3__. Peculiar, eh?"_

"_There he goes with the history lesson again."_ Tenten said, shakling her head at her father's over-enthusiasm.

At that time, Naruto and Sakura came around. They were curious because they lost sight of Spiderman; though in Sakura's case, she was just making sure that Spiderman wasn't running away from his own debt. They were surprised to see a tall, muscular man with fair skin tone standing beside Tenten, ranting about something while holding a _Kagefusha Fuumashuriken_ in front of Spiderman. Naruto was the first one to voice his surprise, _"There you are, Spiderman? Who's the big guy?"_

Spiderman looked behind his shoulder and gave them a wave, _"Oh, it's you two. Guys, this is the blacksmith that runs the place."_ He paused, before scratching the back of his head, _"Tenten also said that this is her dad."_

Sakura gaped, rendered completely speechless at the sight of the hulking elder man. Even though Tenten said that this man was her father, there was almost no distinctive resemblence between the two! How could you, as a normal person, compare a girl with her father who was almost two times her height?

"_Kureuzu Kurogane, at your serv—"_

"_Enough with the introductions!"_ Tenten scolded, a tick of a nerve grew on her forehead. Surprisingly, Kurogane stopped his ranting short, gaining confused looks and sweat-drops from the three others. Sakura turned to Tenten with an inquiring look, _"Tenten, you never told me your surname is Kureuzu."_

"_Yeah, well, I kinda not tell you on purpose. My surname is hard to remember, anyways." _She turned to Spiderman, handing him the weapon pouch, _"Anyway, Spiderman here's your ninja tools. It's fresh out of the oven, and it's high quality!"_ She said, handing the pouch she had carried before.

Spiderman hesitantly took the pouch and opened it. He peeked inside to see several ninja weapons stacked in a pretty ordered fashion. He frowned, _"Isn't this too much of an overkill? There's at least...what, 10 kunais and 10 shurikens?"_

"_And a dozen of paper bombs along with five smoke bombs."_ Tenten added, _"If you think that's overkill, you should've seen my personal set."_

Spiderman paled at the idea, _"I rather not, actually."_

Tenten nodded before walking back to the cashier. A little button being pressed here and there, and then the price came up. Tenten hadn't got the time to speak up the price because a loud groan cut her off. _"There's too much zeros in there!"_ Spiderman whined.

"_Oh, shush already."_ Sakura said flatly. She personally was enjoying the idea of Spiderman paying double the price when the time comes. _'I mean, double the price of a few hundred ryou and I get, what, enough money to make an early retirement!'_ She giggled inwardly at the thought.

After the money and the weapon pouch were exchanged, Sakura walked towards the door with a happy smile on her face, Naruto followed with his hands holding his mouth to prevent himself to laugh out loud, and Spiderman looked at the two of them, thinking, 'Says I should pay my debt...doubles the price!' He scumbag-joked mentally.

At the last minute before opening the door, he spared the glance at the now folded _Kagefusha Fuumashuriken_ on the table it was previously laid upon. He was brought out of his trance when Kurogane spoke again, _"I see you've taken a liking to that shuriken."_ At the sudden voice, Spiderman jerked his head up, _"Want to buy it?"_

Spiderman scratched his cheek nervously, _"Maybe later. For now, I have to focus on collecting some money for myself."_ And when he said himself, he meant a certain pink-haired devil incarnate.

**xoxoxo**

_Ninja Academy..._

The walk to the Ninja Academy was surprisingly uneventful. Naruto, already letting out his laugh before, had a content smile on his face. The same could be said about Sakura, as she had already raised the amount of money Spiderman was going to pay her back, and just daydreaming about it almost made her squeal in delight. The air around Spiderman was gloomy, however, due to the fact he would be squeezing his wallet clean of cash when he was to pay Sakura. Even Raibi was agitated enough to call her **'A pink-haired fiend of a bag of meat.'** Earlier when Spiderman contacted him.

Eventually, though, Spiderman broke out of his gloomy reverie and tried to make conversation between the two ninjas in front of him. He asked several things he still didn't understand about the village, as well as the usage of the mysterious energy the ninjas here seem to use. He was actually curious about this since the time he fought those two guards at the gate, saying that one of them spit a large amount of...well, he said that it certainly looked like spit, while the other summoned a mace as big as a small tree.

Sakura had actually giggled at that, making Spiderman pout and complain that she should take him seriously. She then said, _"What they used to attack you is a ninja technique, or jutsu. But maybe, before I start explaining what jutsu is, I should explain about chakra."_

"_Chakra?"_ Spiderman questioned, curious of the foreign word. Naruto inwardly groaned, thinking, _'Here comes the nerdy explanation.'_

"_The inert energy inside humans. There's only a handful of those who can use chakra, as they were born with an active chakra circulatory system. Chakra is essentially the amalgam of physical energy with spiritual energy, both obtained from inside our body. To use chakra, or to be precise to do a jutsu, you need to extract the right amount of said amalgam. Once you did, you have to make hand seals in order to release the chakra in the form of jutsu."_

Spiderman nodded, gesturing her to continue. _"Now, about jutsu. Jutsu are the variety of techniques we ninjas can do with the usage of chakra. There are three main types of jutsu: Taijutsu, Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. Taijutsu are pretty much hand-to-hand combat jutsu, usable without making hand seals with the exception of some. By itself, to use Taijutsu you don't need to use chakra, only your stamina._

"_Ninjutsu are jutsu that expels chakra from one's body and used as, if you may, energy weapons. In Ninjutsu, there's also a type of more complicated energy transformation, called elemental manipulations. In a sense, you insert your inert elemental chakra in the mixture of chakra you're going to use for a Ninjutsu._

"_Genjutsu are jutsu that, in a way, leans more to illusion. This jutsu is used by expelling your chakra to disturb your opponent's chakra through the human's five senses, causing your mind to get disturbed and makes you hallucinate. For example, there's a Genjutsu which casts illusion about you dying just by entering your sense of hearing."_

Spiderman cringed, _"Nasty stuff."_

Sakura smiled at the masked man's reaction, _"True. But you know, there's another thing I picked up when I was apprenticed under Tsunade-shishou."_

"_Which is?"_ Curiosity got the better of Spiderman again. He couldn't help it, the girl was simply interesting.

"_Tsunade-shishou taught me that different types of jutsu means different amount of physical and spiritual energy in the chakra. You see, for example, in Taijutsu you seldom don't need chakra to do it. Instead, you need stamina. Stamina, I've learned, is also a part of physical energy. So in a sense, there's greater amount of physical energy than the spiritual one in the chakra to use Taijutsu. While in the usage of Ninjutsu, it's a complete opposite, where you insert more spiritual energy than you do with the physical energy when you expel your chakra._

"_Genjutsu is harder, because you need to insert the same amount of physical and spiritual energy when you generate chakra, otherwise it won't be possible. Usually, only ninjas with good chakra control are able to do Genjutsu because of that. Guys like Naruto, here,"_ Sakura said, pointing her thumb to her blond companion, _"Would use up all his chakra just to find the right ratio."_

"_Hey! My chakra control has already improved, you know!" _Naruto exclaimed, _"And besides, who needs Genjutsu? I don't need illusions if I can just kick my opponent's ass with one strong Ninjutsu, dattebayo!"_

Spiderman rubbed his chin. The explanation was getting interesting. He didn't know about these kind of things before, not even when he was bitten by the radioactive spider. All other super heroes are the same—with the exception of some—as him, since their powers as well as his were maybe equivalent to jutsu in term of usage, but they didn't know about this chakra circulatory system.

He couldn't look for the answer as of the moment, though. After all, he had an exam to finish.

"_Oh, look! We're here."_ Naruto declared.

Dumbfounded, Spiderman glanced at Naruto, making sure that he wasn't joking, _"You're joking, right?"_

"_Why would I be?"_ Naruto asked, a little offended.

"_How come a ninja should do a test in a CLASSROOM?"_

Yeah, Naruto had led them to the front door of a classroom which had a big metal door, of all places. Spiderman face-palmed; he should've known better, being led to an Academy and all. Naruto shrugged, _"Well, what do you expect? It's a written test, after all. We should've bound to be stuck in a classroom sooner or later."_

He then suddenly laughed out loud when Naruto told him that the first test would be a written one. _"The first test a written test? This'll be a walk in an amusement park!"_

Naruto grinned at the masked man. He grinned, because he knew Spiderman had no idea of what kind of questions there would be in the test, let alone the answer. _"This ain't just any kind of test. It's a test for the Ninja Academy graduates! How would you know how to answer the questions?"_

"_That's where you're wrong, Naruto."_ Spiderman said, his tone suddenly turning sagely, _"No matter what the questions are, I will be able to answer it. What you've learned in your Academy shouldn't be so far off what I learned in middle school. For example, Sakura?"_ He called the pink-haired girl.

"_H-hai?"_

"_This inert energy of yours...chakra, isn't it? You said that they're basically a mixture of physical and spiritual energy, right?"_

"_Yeah, why you ask?"_

"_Let me finish. As I said, what I've learned in my school shouldn't be so far off from what you were taught. For example, the transformation from chakra into jutsu. Back in my country, I was taught that energy can't be created,"_ Spiderman put one of his hands up in front of him,_ "Nor can it be destroyed."_ He then clapped his hands once, before continuing,_ "It can only...transform. So what I'm saying is, chakra, even though it's generated from your body, that doesn't mean that you create it on your own. You can't create it nor does it disappear after you use it. It can only transform from physical and spiritual energy, into chakra, into jutsu, then into what I assume to be chakra residue. Then, the chakra residue will somehow turn into pure chakra again and will be absorbed by the human body just like they absorb the sun's light, in the end creating a cycle of energy transformation. Am I correct?"_

Silence reigned the hallway which they walked on. Sakura gaped for the umpteenth time, her mouth was closely bordering from gaping to completely drop from her jawbone. Naruto, meanwhile, only squinted his eyes and tilted his head, giving out a cute 'I don't get it' look. At last, Sakura broke the silence by her voice which sounded like a pitter-patter of the rain if the stammer in her speech was anything to go by, _"Wha...Why...How did you figure that out? That's the literal explanation of chakra usage!_

Naruto, for his part, continued to look oblivious, _"Huh? So that was about chakra usage?"_

"_How did you know about the chakra residue theory? That's not even taught in the Academy, and I was taught about that only when I was apprenticed by Tsunade-shishou! How could you...?"_ She trailed off. She was completely rendered speechless this time by Spiderman's unexpected knowledge. He understood about energy transformation at that level, and he said that his whole country was taught about this?

Spiderman shrugged, _"Well, I didn't realize the theory until you explained what chakra actually is. I mean, it shouldn't be possible if you convert your inner energy into chakra and used it for a jutsu only to lose that energy. I figured that there would be at least a residue of that energy which should be lingering in the air. Well, at least, that's my theory."_

"_Uhh...I still don't get it."_ Naruto said, rubbing his temples, _"You mean that the chakra we use is still there after we use it?"_

"_Well, not the chakra itself, anyway."_ Spiderman said, before grinning so wide it stretched the mask, _"But I guess you wouldn't understand even if you DO have something under that thick skull."_

"_SAY WHAT? I BET YOUR SKULL IS EVEN THICKER, DATTEBAYO!"_

Sakura laughed behind them, not so loud that it overcame Naruto's voice, but not silent enough to escape the two's hearing. They turned to face the pinkhead, eyebrows raised in surprise.

Naruto was the one who was genuinely surprised, for he had never heard Sakura laugh so openly since a very long time. As Sakura's laugh receeded, she raised a teary eye up to look at Naruto, _"You know what? You two had become friends even faster than I thought! I thought it was impossible seeing that you two had a grudge against each other."_ She shook her head, a smile on her face, _"Geez...it's almost the same like the time with—"_

She suddenly paused, her tongue freezing between her words. She almost let it out, that name. In the midst of the happy feeling that crept up from her stomach to her face, it blinded her mind for a moment. And in that moment, she let the illusion take her over and made old memories to show its ugly face again. She let her mind hallucinate—she, who Tsunade and Kakashi had said to have a potential in Genjutsu—that the black jacket-wearing figure in front of her was someone else, and that the spider insignia was instead a red and white fan insignia.

For a moment in her mind's weakness, she let herself thought that Spiderman was Sasuke.

She couldn't help it, unfortunately. The way Spiderman unknowingly befriended Naruto, the way he mocks him because of his idiocy...it was terribly similar.

"_Sakura-chan?"_ She jerked her head up, surprised that she had unconciously lowered it all this time. She raised her emerald eyes hesitantly and was greeted with Naruto's concerned blue eyes, _"What is it, Sakura-chan?"_

There it was again. That concerned tone that she had received from him countless times before, every time the name Sasuke brought her down. And, just like always, she shook her head negative, _"No...just...nothing."_

Silence once again reigned the hallway they were in. Not Sakura nor Naruto uttered a word, but instead conveyed everything through eye contact, afraid that their tongue would betray their feelings and say something that they would regret. This occurence had happened countless times before, either someone else mentioning the taboo name in their presence or their own tongues almost slipped and said the name. Although that was the fact, they never did got used to it, and they was sure that they never will.

Thankfully, the silence was broken by Spiderman, who thought that he had enough of the negativity that ran rampant in the atmosphere, _"Hey, Naruto. The door won't open itself, you know."_ He said, his back to the two ninjas.

The joke, superficial as it was, had lifted the spirits of the two brooding friends. Subconciously thanking the web-headed hero, Naruto retorted, _"And I'm supposed to open it for you? Tough luck, Web-Head!"_ He raised the middle finger of mock at the man...no, at his friend. He raised the finger at his friend, and he was proudly declaring that in his mind.

"_Tch, whatever, Whiskers."_ Spiderman shot back. Just when Spiderman was about to push the door, he stopped when Sakura suddenly called Naruto's name. _"Naruto!"_

"_Hm?"_ Naruto turned to his pinkheaded friend, the ever-present rise of heartbeat appearing again when she called his name. He looked at her eyes, as she did at his, both trying to convey something through eye-contact once more. Naruto knew this, and the selfish side of him wanted more than just eye-contact. He wanted her to say it out loud, no matter what her words are going to be.

Sakura knew that, and she wanted the same thing. She was actually tired of the silent treatment she gave Naruto every time she was angry, sad, or genuinely depressed. But, no matter how much she wanted to tell him how much she was hurting, as a friend—best friend—she couldn't let herself be selfish. _'He's going on the Chuunin Exam, for Kami's sake! My selfish wants can wait a whole year if I need it to!'_

"_Do your best!"_ She exclaimed, bringing her fist up at him.

Naruto smiled at the gesture, and then fondly bumped her fist with his own, _"Roger!"_

Unseen by the two, Spiderman let out a smile. A proud one, at that. Unknown to them, he considered the two his friends. And if they were happy, then he should be, too. 'Let's wrap this thing up, Raibi!'

Although the encouragement wasn't anything like what Sakura did for Naruto, Raibi grinned all the same, **'Agreed.'**

And with a push, the door opened.

End of Chapter 1

**xoxoxo**

**Man,that's one long chapter to finish.**

**Personally I hope Spiderman doesn't need to change his costume anymore.**

**I hate writing down something which has something to do with shopping. :P And I made up that Cynthia name. No one knows what Madam Web's ****real ****identity anyway.**

**Extra Note: If anyone's asking how come Spiderman could shatter Kotetsu's mace that easily; remember! He's a powered up metahuman with both radioactive spider powers and a Tailed Beast. Even without Raibi, Spiderman could still stop a train (if you forgot about it, Spiderman 2?). And, hoho! This is a more detailed version, unlike the crappy first version I made before. Oh, and the Tenten's shop part, I was thinking to make it connected to the sequel of this story. Also, I've acquired quite the 9Gag train of thought. I thought that it'll be fun to put in bits here and there:**

**Yes, if you're a 9Gagger, imagine that Futurama guy who always fists up his money everytime some cool objects were made. If you're not, open 9Gag, immediately!**

**That's Nicolas Cage's "You Don't Say" expression, all right. Also from 9Gag.**

**If anyone's wondering, and if you're wondering right, yes that Kureuzu Kurogane is an OOC I created with the surname Kureuzu for a reason. I mean, heck, Kureuzu sounds almost like the Japanese of Kreuz. And that female mage...well, you who guessed right gets a cyber-cookie! That's definitely Fairy Tail's Erza Scarlet, the 'Titania'! MWAHAH I'm so evil for almost making a three-way crossover.**

_**Jutsu Description**_**:**

_Suiton: Mizuame Nabara _(Water Style: Syrup Capturing Field):- A water jutsu that Kamizuki Izumo specialize in. It's pretty unique, because the liquid is sticky, unlike most Water Released jutsu. Because of its sticky nature, the jutsu is best for capturing or ensnaring someone in their place.


	3. Chapter 2

**I'm sorry readers. There's a technical problem,(or not so technical,anyway)the Chapter 2 I was intending to publish was mistakenly switched with another copy of chapter one. I know,I know. A foolish mistake,sorry anyways. Here's the real Chapter 2 for an apology.**

**Yet another hard piece of work that reminds me of the real life out there. So many full-packed bullies yet so little of those with the wits to not back off.**

**Disc,:I do not own Naruto or Spiderman. Not to say I won't. MWAHAHA!**

**Chapter 2**

**The First Test is Intimadating**

**(literally!)**

The room,though,was nothing like Spiderman expected. There's more than 30 people inside. Some from Konoha and some other were from other villages. Spiderman didn't recognize their forehead protector's symbol though.

"_Now this is some ninja hippy festival. Too much just for 1 exam,isn't it?"_,Spiderman asked. _"Not really,most of 'em are going to fail anyways. Especially on this test"_,well,Naruto can act big-headed now. Since he once participated in the exam as well. If not for Orochimaru,he'd be chunin now. Well,maybe.

"_Guess you guys take written tests too seriously. Ain't that hard you know"_.

"_I've told you,don't underestimate this one!"_.

A guy in front of Naruto stands up and smashed a table.

"_Oi,teme. Shut your mouth! You noisy brat!"_,the guy,who seemed to be from Iwagakure according to his forehead protector,shouted at Naruto.

Standing high in approximately two meters high,the Iwa ninja is wearing a reddish brown,large kimono. Which is topped with a white short-sleeved _haori _(robe) and an equally white long pants. Shortly,his clothes were used to express his large stature for intimidation.

Well, intimidated is not on the list of Naruto's feeling library.

"_Better shut yours too! Baka!"_,an angry Naruto shouted back at the Iwa ninja.

"_Heh,don't you know who I am? I'm the All-Mighty Hiromura Takeshi of Iwagakure! I'm going to be the awesomest ninja of all time!"_.

Naruto gets even angrier at this.

"_I don't care who you are! Cuz I'm gonna be the greatest Hokage ever lived!"_

Spiderman smiled,'Ain't a bad dream'

'**Why do you say that?'**

'Cuz the only thing I've dreamed of is becoming a cook in a cafeteria back in my high school times'

"_Why you little-!"_,upon hearing Naruto's words, Takeshi raised his arm readying to punch Naruto.

Naruto is ready for it. But Spiderman caught Takeshi's fist for him.

"_Heh,two meters tall doesn't give you opportunity to fly your fist to someone else,you know!"_,Spiderman said. True,Takeshi was two meters tall and arms packed with enough muscle to break a guy's jaw with with a flick.

But,nevertheless, muscles alone won't work against Spiderman.

"_I'm ready for him,you know"_,Naruto protested upon being saved by Spiderman.

"_Yeah,I know. But better keep myself heated for this exam"_.

"_Oi,Takeshi,knock it off. The proctor's here"_,Takeshi's teammate called.

"_Gah,this isn't over,brat!"_.

Spiderman let go of his fist,assuming if the proctor knew he and Naruto got in a fight,they would fail.

"_You really want to become Hokage,Naruto?"_

"_Yeah,and someday I'll make everyone respect me!"_

"_Can you keep your word?_

"_Hah,I won't go back on my words,that's my way of ninja! Believe it!"_

'The kid sure got spirit'

'**Well at least the kid's got enough to be Hokage'**

The proctor came in. Which to Spiderman looked like a middle-aged man with scars all over his face.

"_Alright,I'm the proctor of this first exam. My name is Morino Ibiki. And I hope you people could settle down so we could begin"_,the man said.

'Well he sure is intimidating',Spiderman thought.

'**Morino Ibiki is an interrogator. The scars on his face shows fear to the guys captured to be interrogated. The guy could make that guy Captain America wet his pants'**

'In that case I hope I never commit crime here'

"_Each of you are going to be handed some test paper,answer all the questions,then wait until everyone's finished. So I can give the last question. Got it?"_,Ibiki said. Everyone nodded.

True,when the other proctors handed the papers,Spiderman noticed that the last question is missing.

"_Alright,BEGIN!"_

Three minutes have past. And Spiderman is the first one to finish.

In fact,he finished so fast that the other ninja can't see what his answers were. 'Told ya Physics can't defeat me!',Spiderman screamed in his head out of joy. His long-time in college turns almost all of his tests into easy as scribbles. **'Don't be so big-headed on this one,webhead. There's still one more,you know'**,Raibi growled.

Spiderman gets kinda bored,so he took a look around from his seat. He caught Naruto on hard term doing the test(Naruto made a blank-eye,teeth-clenching comedical face). 'Sheeesh,can't believe he wants to be Hokage with his IQ level now'. Spiderman made a single comedical sweatdrop.

Five minutes,ten minutes have past. Half an hour then,came the last question. Which was supposedly given by Ibiki. _"Seems that everyone finished. Alright,I'll give you the last question_",Ibiki declared.

"_But there's something I want to say about this question…"_,Ibiki paused for a moment.

"_The question I will give you is going to be harder than you have expected. If you want to forfeit now,you can take the exam next year. If you still want to answer the question and your answer is correct,you will pass the first test.."_,another pause.

"_But if your answer is wrong,you will NEVER ascend to the rank Chuunin. Not in your life!"_,he finally finished his rather,uh,TERRIFYING speech.

'Okay,now that's intimidating. Guess this is what Naruto mentioned about'. Spiderman slightly shivered.

'Hah,I won't back down just because of this'

But,in fact,there's a lot of other participants which forfeited. Most of them looked terrified at 'not becoming chuunin forever'threat.

Naruto however,remained still. Sure he has guts,Spiderman admit that. But half of him said that Naruto didn't forfeit because he knew what's the answer to Ibiki's question.

Soon,there's only 8 teams left. Including Naruto & Spiderman and of course Takeshi's team too(wouldn't be great if the poor guy gets eliminated).

Ibiki scanned the room,_"Hmm,are you sure any of you won't forfeit anymore?"_.

"_Heh,why don't you just tell us what's the last question,ossan?"_,Spiderman grew tired waiting to finish this first test.

"_How about you forfeit too? Are you sure you want to risk your chance of becoming chuunin?"_.

"_Nah,I'm good. Come on,I'm bored already. And I suppose all other guys are tired too"_.

Ibiki frowned,_"How can you be sure that they won't forfeit too?"_.

"_I believe in them just as much as they do in me. Well,even if there's someone who doesn't believe in me as much as I do in them,who cares?"_.

Spiderman statement kinda froze Ibiki and other people in the room. Especially Naruto,for he never been that trusted in his entire life.

"_Hahahahaha! Alright,if you all are just like what the webhead said,I shall give you the last question!"_,Ibiki laughed. He never thought there's someone so stupid yet so believing.

Everyone gulped. Thinking that if they fail to answer,they won't be chuunin forever. Naruto however,remained relaxed like before.

Ibiki paused for a moment.

"_Haha,got you there!"_,Ibiki said.

'Wha? Is the old man drinking too much _sake_ or something?',Spiderman thought.

"_Sorry,there's really no question"_,Ibiki said.

Shocked,the other participants began murmuring.

"_Oi,teme! What does that mean?"_,Takeshi finally asked. In his own,unmannered way.

"_The real aim of this test was to see if you were even worthy enough to be chuunin. Remembering that a chuunin-level mission sometimes has these kinds of choice-making. For example,if you are ordered to get a document from enemy territory,which could be dangerous,you have to choose whether is it more important to get the document or saving your life. If you're worthy to be chuunin,then you will get the document no matter what. THAT is what makes you chuunin!"_,Ibiki speeched

'Ah,I get it!',Spiderman thought joyfully.

'**Well now you do. Took you long enough to understand that'**

'What does that suppose to mean?'

"_Alright,since you successfully passed the first test,I congratulate you and you have permission to go to the next test! Dismissed!"_,Ibiki said.

Just as he said that,a woman crashed through the classrom's window. This woman, Spiderman thought, was actually stupid enough to think that fishnets and jacket is a suitable clothing.

"_Alright you miserable maggots,I'm your second proctor. The name's Mitarashi Anko. Follow me!"_

Not long after everyone cleared the room,Ibiki walked towards Spiderman's desk. He was really impressed by Spiderman's words,but he was checking his paper just to know how could he finished so fast.

'_He didn't even needed to cheat'_

But,Ibiki was shocked by Spiderman's answers. Yup,Perfect score. 100 over 100

'_Never have I seen such man like ,he is something,just like Naruto back then. Well,with higher intelligence nonetheless'._

End of chapter 2

**And that's that for Chapter three**

**To someone's concern,perfect score is what Spiderman always had in college. : )**

**Takeshi is a random ninja name. So don't bother searching that name from comics to comics.**

**But since I terribly hate Iwagakure ninja(rock ninja) I'm planning to get Takeshi butt-whooped next chapter. SPOILER ALERT!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Sometimes I wonder why would all authors not get sick of writing disclaimer's and stuff. *sigh*Well,you know what they say. **

"**With great **_**(imagination)**_** power,comes great **_**(writing)**_** responsibility".**

**Disc,:I do not own the hyperactive blonde or the red and blue spandex-wearing hero. There,I said it. Sheeesh -_- **

**Chapter 3**

**Sounds Much Like The Forest Of Death**

**Jumpstart On The Second Test!**

"_Hey,something's up about this"_,Spiderman whispered to Naruto.

"_What is?"_,Naruto replied cautiously. Choosing to trust Spiderman's instincts.

"_My blood pressure,of course"_,Spiderman said casually. Naruto had to choose either to choke the breath out of Spiderman or to laugh it out loud. He chose the latter.

Though he can't really do it,either. Since Anko's glare told them to shut the hell up.

In front of them,Takeshi's team seemed to arrive earlier. Not much to their surprise,he still bear a great hatred towards Naruto & Spiderman. What startled them was that Takeshi made an evil grin.

'My Spider-sense just rang. This is not good',Spiderman thought. For real,his spider-sense really rang.

Anko decided not to wait any longer for the test description.

"_And here I thought Ibiki's gonna manage to scare some of you off"_.

"_Alright,let's hope the second test is not another written test. I'm bored"_,Spiderman said.

"_Well you're hope is my time eating dango peacefully. To my back is where you're test will be held. The Forest of Death(Shi no Mori). And don't be concerned with the scary name,our earlier Hokage always made several silly nicknames"_,Anko pointed out. She guessed the webhead isn't taking this seriously.

"_Why 'Forest of Death'? Why not 'Park of The Innocent?"_,still joking Spiderman is.

Anko pulls a meat loaf from…. anywhere from her jacket. She seemed able to hide anything in her jacket. She threw the meat loaf into the forest. Several beasty sounds were made by the fresh meat loaf. And it sounds like hundreds of lion stampede. Well,at least it does to Spiderman.

He gulped. Hard. _"Sounds like a Forest o' Death to me"_,he finally accept the silly name.

Anko sighed. All she wanted was a peaceful time with dozens of _dango_ to eat.

"_Alright,guess you guys better go in. We're losing time"_ '_For my dango that is',she said,and thought._

Everyone gets in,but she halted Naruto for a moment.

"_Naruto,keep an eye on that bug guy,I think he's gonna trouble you"_,Anko said.

"_Hahahah. Well,I heard he took on 2 ANBUs himself so I wouldn't worry about him if I were you,Anko-san"_,Naruto said.

'_2 ANBUs huh? Not bad'_

Naruto sped away,following Spiderman.

Sakura made his way to Hokage's office. On her way,she was caught by surprise by a blonde girl with a ponytail.

"_Hey,forehead. Going somewhere?"_,the girl said.

Forehead. Not so mean for an insult,but Sakura kinda took it seriously.

"_Not anywhere of your concern,Ino-pig"_,she shot back.

The girl,which Sakura called Ino,didn't take it as serious as the forehead girl she was teasing.

"_Aw,someone's in a bad mood. Tell you what,I have just the news that'll cheer you up"._

"_What?"_

"_An American guy was here. I heard he's really hot,but I don't hear that he has shown his face yet"_

"_Well,he was wearing mask after all"_

Ino paused.

"_Wait,you've seen him?"_

"_Yeah,guess Tsunade-shishou assigned him to be in my team"_

"_What? Aw,man. And I've thought I'll have a chance on this guy._ _This means I've lost two times to you"_

Sakura was puzzled.

"_What did you lost to me in the first time?"_

Ino didn't seem really enthusiastic about what she had to answer. Silently cursing herself for bringing up the topic.

"_W-well,last time Sasuke was assigned to your team. And-"_,she stopped. Sakura was ready to go into nervous breakdown state.

"_Sorry,Sakura. I didn't mean to-"._

"_No,it's okay",_comically,she clawed to the ground in depression.

Ino knew she has to do something to lighten up the situation. Something,anything will do.

"_Uh..I hear Naruto-kun is restarting the Chuunin exam again. Is it true?"_

Sakura,upon hearing Ino calling Naruto 'Naruto-kun',which was really strange since Ino never called him that,lifted her head to meet Ino's desperate gaze.

'_Wow,she is desperate'_

"_Oh,right. He is. And Spiderman is going with him too"._

"_Spiderman,huh?"_

"_Yeah,I know. Kinda weird,really"_.

Back in the Forest of Death,our UnDynamic Duo was still searching for other scrolls.

"_Okay. So we have the Earth Scroll. And we should look out for the Heaven scroll which might be held by other teams. And we—woah! Watch out!"_,Spiderman's spider sense kicked into high gear when a giant centipede charged towards them. Luckily his fast reflexes helped him gave a counter-kick towards the giant centipede's head,send him flying away.

"_And we have to fend off any over-grown animals around here. Correct!"_,Naruto finished Spiderman's word.

Another came,a giant hornet.

"_My turn,Kagebunshin no Jutsu_(Shadow Clone Jutsu)_!"_

Four Naruto appeared after a puff of smoke.

'What the-?'

Naruto began kicking the hornet upwards.

"_Uzumaki Naruto Rendan_(Uzumaki Naruto Barrage)_!"_

Another kick from another of Naruto's clones,and another one. The real Naruto was already waiting to deliver the final downwards kick. It hit the hornet's face,crippling it. The centipede slammed the ground after being kicked by Naruto.

"_Whoa,dude what the hell did you do?"_,Spiderman,still confused by Naruto's jutsu.

"_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ (Shadow Clone Jutsu)_. It's really cool if you get a hang of it. And what I just did is a Super Cool combo original by me!"_,Naruto proudly explains while pointing his thumb to his chest.

"_I'd say you're too hard on that poor hornet"_

"_Ahh,who cares about the hornet. That rocks!"_,Naruto's biggest weakness is,well,big-headed.

'I guess it's a good time to take some reality to that head of his. He seems to be having too much fun',Spiderman thought while visibly sweatdropping. Truth to be told,he doesn't want Naruto ended up a power-hungry creep.

"_Naruto,how strong do you think you are?"_,the webhead asked.

Naruto,a bit taken aback by Spiderman's question,took some time to think about that slight detail. For all honesty,he haven't thought about that for a long time since what he's aiming is just to become stronger everyday. He haven't record his power limits at all.

"_Hmmm,well.. I guess just enough to take you on!"_,he said. Okay,maybe that's too far out,he silently thought.

Spiderman chuckled at his friend's behavior. He then finally said,_"Well,that means you have the same responsibility as I do. If you CAN take me on,that is"_. Naruto began contemplating his newfound friend's words before he caught the webhead's last words.

"_Is that a challenge,nest face?"_,he growled. Spiderman immediately waved his hands up in front of him in defense. _"No,no,nothing like that. I was just asking whether or not you think you are that strong"_.

"_How strong?"_,Naruto asked.

"_Well,I'm not asking you how strong you are to gauge your strength. I'm asking that to see how much is your responsibility"_,Spiderman explained his intentions.

"_What does strength has to do with responsibility?"_,a dumbfounded blonde asked.

But before Spiderman could answer,a voice called out.

"_I'd better not get comfortable if I were you,twerp! "_

A very familiar voice came from above. Spiderman had to focus on his spider-sense to search the source of the voice.

"_Naruto,on the trees!"_,Spiderman said.

Naruto turn to look to the trees Spiderman was saying. There,stood Hiromura Takeshi and his gang.

"_Mwahahahah! Guess I finally have some time to settle the score with you dirtbags! You're going to pay! Tsugami,now!"_,Takeshi signaled to one of his teammates.

A large tree branch tied by a long rope came swinging towards Naruto. Spiderman quickly took a shuriken and throw it to the ropes,cutting it. When the tree branch fell,he jumped and shot out four web lines at the gigantic tree branch,then swung it to Tsugami. _"Here's your change!"_. The branch hit him squarely in the stomach.

"_Ack! Darn it!"_,he flew away,but managed to throw a swarm of kunais. 'Great,what should I do?'

'**Try using my Lightning Style ability. That'll help'**,Raibi instructed him from inside.

'Alright'. Spiderman concentrated.

"_Thunder Zap!"_,Spiderman shot out several lightning bolts that stopped the kunais by impacting each of them with each ends of the bolts.

"Great,so I'm now a Sith Lord?",Spiderman muttered in English.

The tree impact itself had caused Tsugami to pass out.

Naruto meanwhile was too preoccupied to see Spiderman's fight. He did however,saw what he could say a sticky rope that shot out from Spiderman's hand.

"_Doesn't suppose he hid several meters of rope in that suit.."_

"_It's not over yet! Doton:RetsuDotensho_(Earth Style:Earth Splitter Palm)_!"_,another ninja jumped from another tree branch. Said ninja slammed the ground with his fist,splitting the ground. And Naruto was in his way.

Naruto jumped towards him and made one clone. While Naruto released some _chakra_ from his hand,his clone started spinning it and mold it into an orb.

"_Take this! Rasengan_(Spiral Sphere)_!"._

Naruto's Rasengan slammed to the ninja's stomach,sending him away while the Rasengan orb still burning his stomach with infinite _chakra _friction.

"_Good-tastically awesome!"_,Spiderman exclaimed.

Now,all there's left is Takeshi himself.

He jumped down from the giant tree he stood before,readying his fist for a bonecrushing punch towards Naruto. Spiderman sprang from Naruto's right,kicking Takeshi's left fist away.

Takeshi growled,doing a somersault to land a few feet away,just above the earth ripture made by his earlier teammate with the _RetsuDotensho_. He got an idea,flashing through a series of seals,which ended in a tiger seal.

'I can't believe those stubby fingers of his could make seals as fast as that'

'**Save your Einsten lectures about hand sizes for later,incoming!'**

"_Katon: Karyuu Endan _(Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet)_!"_,Takeshi breathed out a streak of fire into the ripture,which made the fire travel underground. Naruto saw this,since he already seeing where the riptures lead to. Him and Spiderman.

"_Spiderman!"_,he called in alerting tone.

"_I see it!"_,Spiderman replied. With that,both of them jumped out the way when a volcano of fire shot up from where they were standing.

While Spiderman was jumping to the side,Naruto jumped forward towards Takeshi. While making a cross seal. Summoning five shadow clones to his side.

"_Bunshin Taiatari _(Clone Tackle)_!"_,all of the clones then sped up to Takeshi leaving the real Naruto behind. Then,the clones punched Takeshi in the same time launching him backwards.

When Takeshi regained his footing,Naruto made an upward kick to his jaw and launched him up to crash a tree branch.

'Kid's pretty good. Wonder if Daredevil or Wolverine would be a match for him…',Spiderman thought in amazement.

While on the broken tree branch,a battle-worn Takeshi stood up again,grinning. Wiping a trickle of blood from his mouth.

"_Keh,not bad. You're still an annoying brat though!"_

Takeshi jumped and preparing some _chakra_. He made some handseals.

"_Fuuton:Kaze no Yaiba_(Wind Style:Wind Blade)_!"_

The technique literally cuts through the trees and boulders around Naruto and Spiderman. If not for Spiderman's spider-sense,they too would be like what the trees were. Newly-made pencils.

Unfortunately,Naruto was not that lucky. Since he can't see Takeshi's Jutsu,he got a cut along his left arm.

"_GAAAHHH!"_,Naruto groaned.

"_Naruto!"_,Spiderman richocheted his jump from another tree and jumped towards Naruto.

But Takeshi got Naruto first. And he made a single,evil grin.

"_Katon:Karyuu Bakudan_(Fire Style:Exploding Flame Dragon)_!"_,even without the terrifying name,Spiderman already knew the danger by his spider-sense's high-pitched frequency.

The flame got to Naruto and exploded. Badly wounded him.

Spiderman finally gets to Naruto.

"_Damn it,he got me hard!"_,Naruto spoke,but then he coughed up blood.

"_You okay?"_

"_Yeah,it's not too much of a problem"_,Naruto said.

"_Not much of a problem my ass,Naruto! That's a freaking C4 explosion!"_,Spidey said worriedly. His mask was there to hide the twitch of his left eye.

Seeing Naruto covered in blood reminded him of Harry.

'I have a chance. I have a chance to make a difference'

"_Mwahahahahah! That's what you got if you dare fight the all-mighty Hiromura Takeshi!"_

Spiderman stiffened.

"_Darn it. I was careless for a sec and this happens. Never thought that exploding fire style even exists"_. True,unlike the Third Hokage's Flame Dragon Bullet,the Exploding Flame Dragon can classify as A-class _jutsu._

"_Mwahhhhaaaaahhhaaa!"_

Spiderman stood up. He made a cross-fingered hand seal.

"_Tajuu Kagebunshin no Jutsu_(Mass Sahdow Clone Jutsu)_!"_,he called out his jutsu.

Hundreds of Spidermans was made.

Much to Naruto's amazement,was that Spiderman made the very technique he just show him before.

"_What can you do if you only add your numbers? You still can't beat me!"_,Takeshi roared.

"_Oh yeah? I WILL!"_,Spiderman jumped along with his clones.

"_Yosh,let's do this! Kaze Rendan_(Wind Barrage)_"_,another clone said. Announcing the attack.

A well-organized attack was what was seen in Naruto's eyes.

"_First Wind:Open Gust Whirlwind!"_. Spiderman's clones did a full-roundhouse kick on a handstand. One clone gets a kick in and flung Takeshi to another clone,and so on. The last clone kicked Takeshi upwards.

"_Second Wind:Giant Scythe Hurricane!"_

A lot of Spiderman's clones band together and formed a gigantic-scythe shaped form. The one on the back shot out a web line to swing the shadow clone scythe. The tip of the scythe band hit Takeshi like a baseball bat and flung him to another attack post.

"_Last Wind:Iron Bazooka Thunder Storm!"_

From every direction,Spiderman's clones used two weblines as a slingshot and everyone of them,including the real Spiderman,flew towards Takeshi.

"_Next time you ambush someone,check if one of 'em is a superhero first!"_,enraged,Spiderman ignited his right fist with super-charged lightning.

'**Now he's getting a hang of it'**,Raibi said. Proud that Spiderman used his lightning attacks in combat.

"_RAIKEN_(LIGHTNING FIST)_!"_

Hundreds of lightning fists strikes at Takeshi,making hundreds of thunderclaps when finished.

End of chapter 3

**Note that I suck at translating Japanese language.**

**But at least Takeshi got his butt-kicked.**

**HEEEHAAW!**

**And note if someone asked how does Spiderman get so good with ninja projectiles,don't bother saying that he has a talent for being a ninja. He played darts,that's what happened.**

_**Jutsu Description**_**:**

_Kagebunshin no Jutsu_ (Shadow Clone Jutsu)- Creates a clone which is unlike a regular _bunshin_ where the clone is an illusuion. _Chakra _is divided equally to every clones. Meaning,the clones can extract chakra at their own will. In Konoha,the ones that has mastered it are Naruto and Itachi.

Thunder Zap- Spiderman's _jutsu_. He shoots out lightning strikes from his hand. (Strangely resembles Sith Lightning from Star Wars series)

_Doton:Retsu Dotensho_ (Earth Style:Earth Splitter Palm)- User of this _jutsu_ can create a fissure starting from where his or her palm was slammed.

_Rasengan_ (Spiralling Sphere)-A _jutsu_ created by the Fourth Hokage. Uniquely made from pure chakra forming without using any elemental affinity. The sphere rotates in the inside while the outside was forming a ball shape. Does more internal damage than external damage. Naruto had to make a clone first to perform this _jutsu_.

_Fuuton:Kaze no Yaiba_ (Wind Style:Wind Blade)- User creates a blade made of wind,an unblockable attack since it's invisible.

_Katon:Karyuu Bakudan_ (Fire Style: Exploding Flame Dragon)- User breath out a dragon-shaped fire. The dragon itself explode on contact. Causing burn damage as well as explosion force.

_Kaze Rendan_ (Wind Barrage)- Spiderman's own combo with _Kagebunshin_. There are three parts of the combo. First Wind:Open Gust Whirlwind,Second Wind:Giant Scythe Hurricane,Last Wind:Iron Bazooka Thunder Storm.

_Raiken_ (Lightning Fist)- Spiderman activates lightning-based chakra to cover his fist,improving the damage greatly. Resembles Chidori,though _Raiken_ isn't used for a one-hit kill.

_Bunshin Taiatari_ (Clone Tackle)- Naruto's technique. When several clones are made,the clones then charged at the enemy at high speed,intending to make damage as much as possible. The technique varies as more of the clones are produced.


	5. Chapter 4

**You wouldn't believe how much it took me to imagine a suitable opponent character to beat the hell out of him. Mainly,my credits are to **_**Kubo-san**_** who invented Bleach. I picked Takeshi's appearance from Yammy the tenth ****Espada**

**Disc,:I don't ever recall owning Naruto or Spiderman. Probably because some amnesia,but still…**

**Chapter 4**

**Untitled**

**(Excuse me for being uncreative)**

Takeshi fell to the ground after taking hundreds of punches from Spiderman and his clones.

They managed to get the Heaven scroll from Takeshi,so the next thing they need to do is to find the tower. Dusting his black jacket from all the combat,he offers a hand to help Naruto up,which he accepted.

"_Tch,he's not so strong after all"_,Spiderman said.

"_Nope,guess you're just too strong for him"_,Naruto said in reply.

"_Well either way,he sucks"_,Spiderman said.

"_Hah,that's amazing you know,finishing him off like that. You've learned how to make shadow clones before?"_,Naruto asked.

"_Nah,just did what you did,that's all. After all making one cross-fingered seal's not so hard. Probably the easiest"_.

"_But the last one was cool you know! The lightning punch you did?"._

"_Yeah,pretty cool right? Well,Raibi helped me with. He had tons of awesome jutsus in his pocket"_

"_Raibi? Who's that?",_Naruto asked,dumbfounded.

'Aw great,my tongue slipped'

'**Idiot. Well,guess it's fine since we're on the same side with him'**

'Guess so'

"_Aahh… he's the bijuu in me"_

Naruto gasped.

"_What?"_,Naruto asked again to be sure.

"_I'm a jinchuriki,you deaf!"_

Naruto startled. The fact that Spiderman was a _jinchuriki _didn't past his mind. _'So that's it. He could make that much shadow clones without exhausting himself because he's a jinchuriki'_.

"_What's with the look? Hey,come on. We're nearly there"_,Spiderman said.

Naruto snapped out of his thought. They're near the tower.

Eventually,they entered the tower.

"_Well,that was a breeze. Sure no traps were planted here"_,Spiderman said.

"_Look,there!"_

Naruto pointed at a big whiteboard. There's some writing on it. Unfortunately,it's kanji.

"_Darn it. Mind being my translator? I don't read kanji"_,Spiderman said. Depressed.

"_Well,I don't read much myself. He..hee"_,Naruto said nervously.

"_You're hopeless. What kind of ninja that doesn't actually read kanji? Do you have a dyslexia or something?"_

"_It's nothing like that. Well,the point is we should open these scrolls"_

"_How can you be so sure?"_

"_Hey,I've been through this test remember?"_.

Spiderman sighed. He pulled out the scrolls and opened them.

'_Sure glad he didn't open it before we got in this tower. After all,if we did,we'll get trapped in a long genjutsu.'_,Naruto thought.

When Spiderman finished rolling the scrolls out,a puff of smoke appeared. And revealed Iruka. From Spiderman's point of view,just your regular 'scar crossing horizontally on his nose'-faced teacher.

"_Well,guess you guys made it first"_,Iruka said cheerfully.

"_Iruka-sensei! How 'bout it? I've improved since last test,haven't I?"_,Naruto said.

Iruka laughed. _"You sure do,Naruto. But I guess it's partly because he's here"_,Iruka pointed at Spiderman. While Naruto justed pouted in reply.

"_Gee,thanks. Well,I just did a little job here and there"_,Spiderman said.

"_Alright,you guys wait for the other teams to get here,alright?"_,Iruka said before he used a _shunshin_ to run to inform the Hokage and the other Jounins.

Moments later…

The teams have gathered. Even so,there's only 1 team other than Naruto's team that made it to the tower. And oddly,it's a two-man team from Konoha. Ok,scratch that,a boy and a girl in one team. 'Does this mean either me or Naruto is going to fight a GIRL of all opponents there is?',Spiderman thought.

'_Too little compared to the last test'_,Naruto thought. Note that Naruto's wounds has healed. Spiderman said that it somehow reminded him of the other canine back in New York. Which made Spiderman assume that Naruto might have some kind of healing factor.

Tsunade was there,along with several other jounins. One that really gets Spiderman's attention was a green tights-wearing man who constantly had a speech about youth.

"_Alright,so you made this far. Personally I though there's going to be a lot more than now. But,that just ease things a bit"_,she said.

'_So we only get four names from Konoha. And the Hyuuga brat made it too. Along with the Yamanaka kid'_,Tsunade thought,glancing at the team beside Naruto and Spiderman.

"_Both of your teams will get a two weeks to prepare yourself for the last test. Should you get a rest or train,it's up to you"_,Tsunade said.

Spiderman lked like he's going to cry out,_"Isn't that to short for a rest?"_

"_Well,consider yourselves to train rather than resting,then"_,Tsunade replied.

'**It's a good opportunity to train using my powers'**

'Whatever you say,wolfy',Spiderman said in his mind.

End of chapter 4

**Guess I'm too lazy to continue longer.**

**Next on the sixth chapter,Spiderman gets a hang of using his lightning so expect a good training! **

**Riddle for you,who was the 'Hyuuga brat' and the 'Yamanaka kid'?**

**I plan on having an OOC for the Yamanaka. So for those who have a right guess about the Hyuuga,I present you homemade (imaginary) cookies **

**O yeah,for those of you asking,yes I made my Naruto a guy that can't read kanji. Or maybe he can but with little knowledge. Considering in the earlier series when he and the gang first met Kakashi he had trouble reading the script he was given.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Readers might find that whatever reason I had about Spiderman obtaining Shadow Clone Jutsu so easily is really a scene as bad as a bad imitation of Michael Jackson's moonwalk. I just can't find a better way to end it is all.**

**Disc,:I do not own Spiderman or Naruto. Had that happen Spiderman's costume is supposed to be red and yellow. Kinda reminds me of Ronald Mc'Donald.**

**Chapter 5**

**Training For The Last Test!**

"_Narutooo!"_,A cheerful voice called. It was Sakura. And the reason she was cheerful was because she finished her chores back at home.

"_Hm? Aaah,Sakura-chan! What's up?"_

"_You've finished the first and the second test,right?"_

"_Haha. Yeah,it was a breeze! And Spiderman was pretty cool back there too!"_

"_Hey,you saying that saving you and beating the snot of that overweight guy cool? JUST cool? Heck,that's the awesomest thing I've done since discovering Einstein's scribbles paper!"_,Spiderman said.

"_Who did he fight,anyway?"_,Sakura asked.

"_Some punk from Iwagakure. All muscle,no brains"_,Naruto said.

Then an odd sound came. Which sounds like Spiderman's and Naruto's empty stomach.

"_Uugh,MAN I'm hungry!"_,Spiderman said.

"_Alright then! Next stop Ichiraku Ramen!"_,Naruto yelled.

"_Ichiraku Ramen?"_,Spiderman asked. To Sakura of course,since Naruto is busy yelling.

Sakura exhaled in obviousness.

"_Naruto's favorite ramen stand. Well,there's some reasons why it's the only well-known ramen stand in Konoha"_

"_Alright,let's go! Sakura-chan,you coming?"_

Sakura grinned at Naruto while scratching the back of her head.

"_Yeah,I haven't eat lunch"_

Later at the Ichiraku Ramen…

"_Alright,two servings of Miso Bowl for the lovely lady and the newcomer. And one big-sized Pork&Miso combo bowl for our favorite customer!"_,Teuchi said.

'Newcomer,guess that's what everybody is going to call me for some time',Spiderman thought.

"_Itadakimasu!"_,Naruto said whilst splitting his chopstick.

"_Why's he the favorite customer?"_,Spiderman asked to Sakura.

"_Well,apparently Naruto has eaten here since he got his first paycheck. And since then,he eats here all the time. But that causes Naruto to have no idea about other tastes other than ramen"_,Sakura said.

"_Well,I guess I'll found the reason when I started eating this"_,Spiderman lifted his mask up a little. Allowing his mouth to be seen.

A thought pasted Naruto's mind.

'_Why does he use mask anyways?'_

"_Alright,let's try it"_,Spiderman pulled some ramen into his mouth.

He swallowed the ramen. And his eyes(visibly enough even through the mask)blazed with fire.

"_OISHINEEEEEE!"_,Spiderman's scream rattled all of the ramen bowls in Ichiraku Ramen stand.

"_Oi,ojii-san! How do you make such ramen. It's heavenly TASTY!"_

Teuchi laughed out loud.

"_And yet another permanent-to-be customer! We're in lucky term,Ayame!"_,Teuchi said to his daughter.

"_Yes,father! So my weekly horoscope is true,right?"_

Ignoring the horoscope facts,Naruto started eating.

"_Oi,Spiderman. Why wear a mask?"_,Naruto asked finally.

Spiderman glanced at Naruto. Then shook his head.

"_Well,for reasons you won't understand"_

Sakura frowned,_"Why not?"_

"_That's why you won't understand. It's…complicated"_,Spiderman said.

"_I doubt your face is that ugly,Spiderman"_,Sakura said,giggling.

A laughter came from Spiderman's mouth.

"_Well,with or without a mask I'm still your friendly neighbourhood!"_,Spiderman made a visible grin,since his mask was half open.

"_But you know,wearing a mask really reminds me of Kakashi-sensei"_,Naruto said.

"_Kakashi-sensei?"_

"_Our jounin group leader"_,Sakura said.

"_I don't see anyone wearing a mask back at the Tower. Or maybe you guys mean skin mask?"_

"_Kakashi-sensei is at the hospital now. He used up all of his chakra so he can't move now"_,Naruto said.

Spiderman frowned. _"Used it all up? What jutsu did he use anyway?"_.

"_Uhh,well I guess you'll understand when you see it up-close"_,Sakura said. Kakashi's Mangekyou Sharingan is undescribeable. Even when she saw it up-close on their last mission(when their team were saving Gaara). _'Not to mention it's ability to throw something to another dimension'_,she tought while sweatdropping mentally. **'Better another dimension then mine'**,Inner sakura said.

"_Well,guess we better go to the hospital later after we finished the exam. We can't afford to lose time for training"_.

Spiderman remembered something.

"_Speaking of which,Naruto. That orb technique you use. Can you teach me that?"_.

"_What,the Rasengan? Why would you want to use that?"_,Naruto said.

"_Well,it's cool,I'd tell you that"_.

"_Gonna take you a long time to master it. Took myself a week or so to do it myself"_.

"_Nah,don't worry. I'm a fast learner"_.

Naruto considered for a moment. Teaching Rasengan is going to be hard.

"_I guess you could,then. Okay we finished eating,so let's go to the training grounds"_,Naruto finally decided. He pulled out some money from his froggy wallet. Dubbed with the name Gama-chan.

Sakura saw that he still brings that childish frog-faced wallet. She can only sigh. _'He never change'_,she thought.

"_Naruto,why are you still holding that creepy wallet of yours?"_,she decided to ask. Asumming that there's a chance for her to change Naruto's sense of wallet taste.

"_Huh? Why would I want to throw it away? You gave me this wallet,remember?"_,Naruto asked.

True,Sakura gave Naruto that frog wallet a long time ago in their childhood. More exactly,10th of October,which is Naruto's birthday.

She chuckled while remembering her past in her childhood times. Naruto was always an up and down jelly bean even then. She sighed again. _'Yup,he never change'_,Sakura thought.

"_Well,I'm late for a meeting with Tsunade-sama. I'll see you later,guys"_,Sakura waved her hand,saying goodbye.

"_Yeah,catch you later,Sakura-chan!"_,Naruto replied cheerfully.

Spiderman saw that. He smiled,once again invisibly due to his closed mask.

"_Hey,Naruto…"_,Spiderman said.

"_Ng?"_

Spiderman,under his mask,made a very teasing look.

"_Hehehe,…you like Sakura don't you?"_,Spiderman teased.

Naruto's face gone deep red.

"_Uh..well.. you see.. uh..not quite..uh..you know"_,Naruto stammered. Which made Spiderman laughed out loud.

"_Hah,around the globe on the other side of earth and things still hasn't change,huh? Young love is still sprouting everywhere"_,Spiderman said while grinning widely that the tip of his mask widens impossibly.

Naruto was still leaving a trace of deep red on his face.

"_W-well,just s-shut up. Y-you talk like you know much"_,Naruto still stammering because of secrets of his first crush revealed.

Spiderman's enthusiasm decreased a little.

"_Well..actually I do. But well,I don't see any need for me to give YOU an advice if you want to take your CRUSH there on a DATE"_,Spiderman got cheered up again as he finished his sentence. He really got ways to cheer himself up.

"_Hey,enough bullying,alright! Tease me again and I won't teach you the Rasengan!"_

"_Hai,gomennasai,Naruto-sensei!"_,Spiderman apologized in a panic but formal speech of Japanese apology.

"_Tch,alright. Let's go to the grocery store. We're getting some balloons"_.

"_Wow,guess I get an early birthday party!"_,Spiderman said.

"_Just shut up and let's go"_,Naruto growled.

"_Oooo,someone's in a bad mood"_. Spiderman got a deadly glare from Naruto when he said that.

On their way to the grocery…

Spiderman hummed in a playful tune since he already got one of Naruto's weak spot. Along their way,Spiderman decided to chat a little to Naruto about the village.

From that,Spiderman knew that the stone carvings on the hill,which he saw when he got to Konoha,were the faces of the Hokages. Kinda reminds him of the Presidents stone carvings back in America. (But he recalled seeing those carvings of the presidents changed by two boys named Phineas and Ferb. **LOL**) He noticed that there was only one woman on that stone carving. He recognized that face as the present Hokage,the Fifth. The woman from the office a while ago.

He shuddered thinking what kind of woman she is to achieve the title of Hokage and also the first female one. Dubbed _'Baa-chan'_ by Naruto.

When the chat proceeds, Spiderman felt a pair of hateful eyes staring at them. Or appropriately,to Naruto.

Some of them then turned their faces away in disgust. While others kept staring with their cold eyes.

Not understanding what's that about,he tried asking Naruto about having something on his face or not.

Naruto simply smiled saying,_"They're just angry that the villages greatest prankster is dreaming about being Hokage"_.

Spiderman nodded and chose to ignore it,though he could swear Naruto's face darkened when he looked towards the ground.

After grocery,and now the next destination. The training grounds…

"_What the hell does doing that jutsu gotta do with balloons,anyways?"_,Spiderman asked.

"_Well,this is how I train to do it. I don't see any other methods,actually"_,Naruto said. The training method Jiraiya the 'Pervy Sage' is the only thing Naruto knew how to do the training.

In front of them,a gang of kids were picking on a younger kid. Not more than 10 years old.

'So even here they got bullies',Spiderman thought.

"_Wanna check it out?"_,Naruto asked. He seemed to has been observing the bullies too.

" '_Course I do. Why not?"_,Spiderman said.

"_Hey,kid! This is our territory. Give us your money! Or you'll gonna get screwed!"_,a bully for about 14 years old threaten the liitle kid.

"_B-but I can't. It's my mom's birthday and I need the money to buy some flowers"_,the kid said.

"_We don't care about your mother! Give us your money and we'll let you pass!"_,another bully said.

"_NO!",_the kid yelled.

"_Ooh,so the little guy wanna play tough,huh?"_,the first bully began hitting the boy.

"_Agh!",_the boy groaned. A fragile ten year old boy got some hits from a 14 year old bully.

The bully raised his hand for another punch. Only finding his hand in Spiderman's grip. _"Remember kid,no mercy against bullies. Even though they're snot-nosed brats like you"_.

"_I'll show you snot nosed—"_,before finishing his words,Spiderman spun the bully's body in the air so that he fell on his back.

Another bully came attacking from Spiderman's rear. Luckily Naruto's there and kicked the bully's gut. Two bullies down,each points for the arachnid and the canine. _"Ever watch Karate Kid? Believe me,get to the video rental and watch that movie. You'll understand how ironic you feel watching that"_,Spiderman said with knees pressing to the bully's back. Preventing him from moving. _"Ugh,boss! Save us!"_,the bully said.

'_Boss?'_,Naruto thought.

'Like I said,no honor amongst thieves',Spiderman thought.

'**That sarcastic word doesn't mean anything right now,idiot!'**,Raibi groaned. His host is an idiot,that's true.

Two people came out,about the same age as their caller. But somehow giving out much stronger aura. A familiar face of course,to Spiderman and Naruto.

"_Hey,you're—"_,Naruto said.

The two figures were the remaining genin which passed the second test in the Chuunin exam.

"_Never knew that the ones we're gonna fight were just some handful of downtown bullies"_,Spiderman said.

The first one to respond to Spiderman's words was the white-eyed girl with a long brown hair. And she gave a menacing gaze.

'_White eyes and no pupils… A Hyuuga?'_,Naruto thought. His experience fighting with Neji helps him recognize what does a Hyuuga looks like. And then it hit him. He saw this girl somewhere!

"_Leave. Now. At least while you still have a chance"_,the Hyuuga girl said.

"_Leave? Say that to your low-life underlings,blindgirl"_,Spiderman taunted him.

"_Are you trying to irritate me?"_

"_Well,as a matter of fact,I think I am"_

Another boy,which was the Hyuuga's friend,pulled her arm.

"_Hanabi,we don't have time doing this. Let's go"_,the boy said.

Naruto finally remembered her. That's right,she's the girl he saw sitting with Hinata's father in his first Chuunin Exam 2 years ago.

The Hyuuga turned away. And her friend turned around to his underlings,_"Guys,get up! We're leaving"_,the boy with black hair said.

The bullies followed their boss. Leaving Spiderman and Naruto alone with the bullied kid.

"_Kid,you're all right?"_,Naruto asked.

"_Thank you,nii-san. I'm okay"_,the kid got up holding his punched stomach.

"_You better go now. I heard the flower shop is gonna close any minute"_,Spiderman helped the boy get up on his feet.

"_Okay,thank you. I bet my mom is gonna be happy once I told her about you guys!"_.

Spiderman chuckled. Actually,he kinda feel envious to the boy. He never knew her mother. The closest person on being his mother was his Aunt May.

"_You better do kid"_.

The boy ran along the streets. Away from Spiderman's sight.

"_You know what? I feel kinda envious to that kid"_,Naruto suddenly said.

"_Hm? How so?"_

Naruto scratched the back of his neck,_"Well,it's just that…I never knew who my mother was. Let alone my family"_.

Spiderman's eyes widened.

'The kid's got an even worse life than I do'

'**It's sad to think a kid like him actually had a miserable life…'**,Raibi said in Spiderman's mindscape. Though,Raibi kept a suspicious thought about it.

There's a pause for a moment.

"_Well,we better get that training started then!"_

_With Sakura…_

Sakura and Ino were busy in the flower shop. So many flowers,so many customers,yet so hard to keep doing business.

After a while,the shop was empty. Both of the girls used this time to get some short rest.

"_Why do I have to help you arranging flowers?"_,Sakura asked with no enthusiasm.

"_Becaaauuuse you're my BFF and now that you're here,you'll have to help me out just like what a friend would do"_,Ino said.

It wasn't what friends do,actually. I mean,selling flowers to some motor-mouthed old woman who keeps asking for a discount isn't what friends normally do.

A boy came in,rushing to pick a flower and bringing it to the cashier.

"_Whoa,we got an enthusiastic customer! Who's the flower for,kid?"_,Ino said whilst accepting the money the boy gave her.

"_It's for my mom. It's her birthday now!"_,the boy said cheerfully.

"_Aaaw,aren't you the sweetest thiiing? Alright,then you'll have another flower. Free of charge!"_,Ino said. Watching cheerful children like this haven't happen for a long time,well at least in her flower shop.

Then a boy came in. About 2 years younger than Ino and Sakura.

"_Aahh,Hiro! You came! Look,we got a happy customer!"_,Ino said. But she might have to take her words back. Once Hiro gets in,the boy doesn't seem happy. More like afraid.

"_Meh,you're trying to get yourself butt-kicked again?"_,Hiro said,in a menacing tone. He pushed the kid backwards,making him fall. (Note:Hiro is one of the bosses of the bullies back before).

"_HIRO! Stop it!"_,Ino yelled.

The boy ran away. _"Wait!"_,Ino called him,but he's too far away.

"_Feh"_,Hiro walks into his room and closed his door. _"What's with him anyway?"_,Sakura asked.

"_*sigh*,Hiro is a gang leader of this street. He usually bugs people that comes here for flowers. That's why our business is cutting short"_,Ino said.

"_Why would he ruin his own family's business?"_,Sakura asked,not entirely curious.

Ino was silent for some moment,until, with a sad look she finally said,_"I guess it's something that my father has said to him"_.

_Meanwhile…_

Hanabi was walking home after that one incident involving a mere kid, a bug-faced guy, and a boy with whisker-marked faced that she can't put a finger on where she last saw him.

It was a tiring day,overall. Helping his teammate saving his gang,which she doesn't really care about. She was only there as an obligation of one's teammate,no else. So it isn't like she liked being there.

When she entered the Hyuuga compound through a sliding door,she met a hard gaze of her father.

Hyuuga Hiashi,head of the Hyuuga Clan. Also her and Hinata's father. After a short moment,his gaze softened a bit,_"Hanabi,were you helping the Yamanaka's gang again?"_.

She replied it with a scoff,_"I'm not. I was just interfering with their attackers. Seems that the guys that I am up against are some void-headed idiots"_.

"_Who,might I require,are these boys you encounter?"_,he asked.

"_One is a guy I don't know about. What I could give out was there is an ugly looking mask on his face. The second,was the loudmouth,Uzumaki Naruto"_,she reported.

Hiashi turned off his 'kill-gaze' when he heard about Naruto. _"I see. You should've been proud,Hanabi. Having a chance to might have fight with the boy who changed Neji"_.

Hanabi walked passed him,_"Neji-niisan changed because he was weak. I however am not. And I won't change the way how I see of this Naruto"_.

'_You never see anyone from the right side,Hanabi'_,Hiashi thought.

He then sternly called out to her,_"Give some respect to your older brother. He may have been the branch of the family,but his loyalty is above his pride"_.

Hanabi stopped walking,and then turned to her father,_"Why should I? When I am the rightfully heir of the Hyuuga Clan leader?"_

In the training grounds…

"_Alright,we're here!"_,Naruto exclaimed.

"_Neeh,not too bad for a training place"_,Spiderman said.

"_Okay,I don't want to waste much time so let's get started. To master the Rasengan,you need to master three steps of chakra molding"_,Naruto said.

"_And what are these three steps?"_,Spiderman asked. To him,it feels good to be back on high school again.

Naruto held up three fingers.

"_The first one is Spin. The second one is Power. And the last one is Finishing"_.

"_Alright,show me how to do the first step"_.

Naruto picked a water balloon.

"_First,you must spin the water with chakra. With the right technique,you could make it pop. Watch!"_,Naruto put the balloon on his right hand. While his left hand began tapping it and inserting it with spinning chakra. In no time,the balloon popped.

With a cocky look,Naruto said,_"You could not master it in an instant. Me myself only got a hold of it after a week"_.

Spiderman picked a balloon. 'Spin,huh?'

"_Haha,don't worry. You can get it right away"_,Naruto said.Unconciously underestimating Spiderman's ability.

Ignoring Naruto,Spiderman began spinning his chakra. He's doing it with one hand. The one holding the balloon.

There's a few spin in the balloon,but it's getting wilder progressively.

_POP!,_the balloon popped. Naruto jaw-dropped in amazement.

Spiderman grinned,_"Then I guess you better start the second step right away"_.

'_Holy crap,he's doing it on a whole different level'_,Naruto thought.

End of chapter 5

**Okay,so Spiderman seems going to have more mastery over Rasengan than Naruto.**

**Well,he's not that kind of master anyhow.**

**Anyway,things are gonna get harder from here on out cuz Spiderman doesn't seem to be going to master the Rasengan quickly.**

**To those who doesn't believe about Sakura's relation in Naruto's past can wipe their face in shame when they see other people's fanfic. They got MORE than just Sakura giving gifts. **

**Boy,Hanabi sure has a real troublesome background story huh? And so is my OOC Hiro. Don't worry,they be relieved of that stress… One way or another (grins evilly to the laptop)**

**And to my loyal readers… Read & Review**


	7. Chapter 6

**One bad news for you readers,this might be my last publishing for the week,since there's a graduation test. Wish me luck..**

**For the record,the Phineas and Ferb bit has nothing to do with this crossover. It was just for fun. Haha!**

**Disc,:I don't own any rights over Naruto or Spiderman,seeing all of that right is either owned by **_**Kishimoto-san**_** or the cheap bookstore which I got his manga from.**

**Chapter 6**

**Doing Better than Naruto?**

**Truth of The Gift**

"_No way!"_,Naruto said. In unbelieveable-ness.

Spiderman did the first step of the training in an instant. The Spin. Took Naruto over a week to do that.

"_Well,what's the second step?"_,Spiderman asked.

"_How did you do it? I took a week to do that!"_,Naruto yelled.

Spiderman frowned.

"_Well,guess I did it faster since you show how to do it. Besides,the point is to use your chakra to wildly spin the water in the balloon,right?"_,Spiderman asked.

Naruto paused. True,he DID show Spiderman how to do it. But Jiraiya did too in the past. Was it because Spiderman's attention was to spin his chakra to pop the balloon?

'_Why didn't I try to focus just on spinning my chakra and popping the balloon like him? Seems effective'_,Naruto thought,while he hung his head down in depression.

"_Well,guess we can start the second step now,shall we?"_

"_YEEEEEESSH"_,Spiderman said.

"_Alright,the second step is Power. Literally,you have to force your chakra out on this one"_,while saying this,Naruto threw a rubber balloon to Spiderman.

"_Rubber balloon?"_,Spiderman asked.

Naruto sighed._"On a rubber balloon,it's harder than water balloon. Since it's made of rubber and there's no water in it so you'll have to spin the air inside it"_.

Spiderman tried the same way as he did to pop the water balloon. Spinning his chakra on one hand. Unfortunately,there's not enough pressure. So it only moved here and there.

"_Okay,so it IS harder"_.

Spiderman seemed to need another option.

And this time,he uses his left hand.

'Since I can't get enough pressure concentration on one hand,guess I'll use two hands'.

So,he concentrated hard enough to extract more chakra from his hand. He felt a burn,which is normal according to Naruto. Since he did experience a burn back when he did the second step at the first time.

Once Spiderman thinks the chakra he extracted is enough,he uses his left hand to spin the extracted chakra. And the rubber balloon popped.

Along the progress of the popping balloon however,Naruto could swear he saw a perfect orb just for a second.

'_The guy's a monster. He even finished the second step!'_,Naruto thought.

"_Phew,gotta tell ya Naruto. That one was harder"_,Spiderman said.

"_Harder? You did it faster than I do!"_

"_Well,guess I just got lucky"_.

But Naruto doesn't think that that's just luck.

"_Either way,guess all that's left is the third step,right?"_

Naruto sighed,_'This guy's got talent'_.

"_Okay,next is the third step. Finishing. You'll have to make a perfect Rasengan just like the one I used in the second test. Watch!"_,Naruto said. He made a clone. While he extracted chakra out of his right hand,his clone spun it and mold it into an orb.

Dismissing his clone,he held up the Rasengan so that Spiderman could see it. _"Cooooolll! How much punch does this baby packs?"_,Spiderman asked.

Naruto came near a big boulder. The next thing is he slammed the boulder with the Rasengan and destroyed it.

Spiderman jaw-dropped. _"Well,I guess that much"_,Naruto grinned.

"_Guess I ought to try it!"_,Spiderman said.

He made a clone,and,just like Naruto,he extracted his chakra out and his clone spun it. Naruto thought he IS talented.

That's when something went wrong.

For no reason,while his clone was still spinning his chakra,the unfinished Rasengan orb exploded. Bringing out lightning bolts while it exploded and if not for Spiderman's spider-sense,one of the lightning arcs would go through his head.

"_What the hell was that?"_,Spiderman exclaimed.

Naruto was not sure himself. He did experience several explosions while he was trying to make one before when he's still training. But LIGHTNING BOLTS? Now that's new.

'**Guess the Rasengan assimilated with my chakra nature real quick. But I think my chakra's too strong'**,Raibi explained. Spiderman gets what it was. What he didn't get was how to stabilize his Rasengan after that.

'Why would your chakra assimilate with the Rasengan anyways?'

'**My guess is that you accidentally extracted some of my chakra as well. But I don't see any way to stop my chakra to get drawn out as well along with your chakra'**_**.**_

'You don't?'

'**Well,I AM a **_**bijuu**_**. It's only natural that my chakra was mixed with you though I guess Web-**_**baachan**_**'s seal has something to do with it'**

"_Spiderman,what is it?"_,Naruto asked. Curious of the long pause.

"_I guess my bijuu's chakra gets extracted automatically when I tried to make the Rasengan. But he didn't know how to stop it"_,Spiderman explained.

"_So..how should you make a Rasengan with some nuclear warhead ready to burst again? It's too dangerous"_,Naruto said. With a lack of enthusiasm of course,'cuz he himself kinda felt sorry for Spiderman.

Spiderman took a look at his palm. Some burns caused by the second step was still left. But it quickly healed thanks to Raibi's chakra.

"_I seriously have no idea how to do it. And—Huh? I can't feel my right hand!"_,Spiderman tried to move his right hand. But it didn't,it felt more like a ragdoll's arm.

"_Your arm nerves cannot take it when you extracted your chakra out. I experienced the same thing too back then"_,Naruto said.

"_Well,it's gonna heal after a short time"_,he added.

Spiderman thought he's gonna need some rest. So they took some time to rest for a while.

"_Hey,Spiderman. I've been wondering.."_,Naruto said.

"_Yea?"_

"_How come you became a jinchuriki in the first place. I don't remember America got some tailed beasts problems"_.

Spiderman paused for a second.

"_Well,my mentor said that I'll need some help to do this mission. So before I get here,she sealed Raibi in me. Kinda odd when you think about it.. I didn't know she had a stray wolf in cage"_,Spiderman explained.

'**Who are you calling stray wolf,lousy bug'**

'Sorry'

Naruto turned his face to the tree branches above him. He kept staring at the tree above him.

"_Plus,Raibi's actually a clone of this village's bijuu. The Kyuubi"_,Spiderman said.

Shocked,Naruto's eyes widen. Only for a moment then it returned into a sad one.

He smiled,_"It's really a great coincidence,ya know?_

"_Huh?"_

"_I know who is the jinchuriki you're looking for"_

"_Really? Then why didn't you say so before? Dang,I really got to meet him!"_,Spiderman's excitement got the best of him that he didn't see Naruto's face already turned to him.

"_You're looking at him"_

Stunned,Spiderman needed a minute to digest what Naruto said,_"Come again?"_

"_That jinchuriki you're looking for? Yeah,it's me. I'm the host of that bastard fox"_.

Naruto's face suddenly turned angry as the inner tip of his eyebrows lowers.

Spiderman just thought that he heard that Abraham Lincoln is resurrected. To say he's stunned is an understatement.

"_You're…the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi?"_

Naruto nodded.

Spiderman's face lowers in shame. He kept talking about searching a _jinchuuriki_ while not noticing it's Naruto earlier.

'I can't believe I didn't notice it'

'**So that's it. That sense of yours DID detected a strange thing from Naruto. It's the **_**Kyuubi**_**'**_**,**_Raibi said. Even he didn't thought that his original counterpart is inside Naruto.

"_I…I'm sorry Naruto.."_

Confused with Spiderman's sudden depression,Naruto shot a questioning glance to him. _"For what?"_

Spiderman raised an eyebrow,'Either he's too dense or _Kyuubi_ already picked off any emotion related to sad from him'

'**I don't recall him having that kind of ability'**,Raibi sweatdropped behind his cage.

"_But,I can say that you're lucky for not having those freaking beasts for your entire life so far. That,and you got a really awesome power backing you up"_,Naruto smiled looking up the clouds.

What little fire left from his previous depression was now gone once Naruto said that. Spiderman started to recall every memory about where his power came from and what it costed him.

"… _.. I'm not that lucky,you know"_,Spiderman said.

"_Huh?"_

"_I may not know all kind of pain you had before. But I guess I know some of them"_

Naruto chuckled. What kind of thing would make Spiderman's life so miserable in the past? The guy's been through a pack of punches by the Super-Skrull and he still kept taunting the over-powered alien. Though,Naruto has absolutely no idea of the green skinned alien.

"_All of that pain,was because of the power I have"_.

"_What does your power had anything to do with whatever kind of pain you had in your past? Even I think it's kind of a cool gift"_,Naruto asked.

"_The power I have… is both my gift,and my curse. If only I don't get bitten by that stupid spider,no-one close to me will have to suffer"_.

Naruto had his face down. Realising that the question he gave was a bad one.

"_But because I got bitten by that spider,I now can protect everyone that's important to me"_,Spiderman said.

"_Well,I guess every clouds DO have a silver lining"_,Naruto said in relief.

Spiderman remembered a lost memory,_"I hope that silver lining came sooner,though"_.

"_Huh?"_,he didn't like where this is going,but Naruto felt he need to know the webheaded Avenger more. Spiderman sighed.

"_Way back when I haven't got a full hold on my powers. I participated in a wrestling game. I needed some money. I won,but the wrestling manager refused to give me the exact value of money to me. I was angry,so I left. Not so long after that,a robber came in. Taking all the money. I was blocking his way out,but I let him go. Just to settle the score with the manager. But I had no idea that after that,the robber somehow killed my uncle"_,Spiderman,though telling Naruto the story,is trying hard to keep his voice from cracking. Fortunately,he's used to it.

Naruto on the other hand,was pretty upset hearing the story.

"_I never wanted this power,but I have no choice. I have to live up the mistake I did before"_,Spiderman said.

Naruto couldn't stand it. So he decided to stop it. He knew he better stop Spiderman from bringing more of his memories.

"_Everybody have a choice Spiderman! You just chose to be a hero using that power. And your uncle died it's not your mistake. It's the robber fault to kill him! So stop blaming yourself for his death!"._

That's not very nice. But it's better than nothing.

Spiderman smiled under the mask. And Naruto can hear his voice lightened a bit. _"Thanks,Naruto. I needed that"_.

"_Anyhow,the last test is two weeks away,so we better get some rest"_,Naruto said while taking both of his hands behind his head.

And with that,they left the training grounds.

End of chapter 7

**I know,I know. I've gotten soft on this part. And you know,I don't see any chances for Spiderman to cry for REAL.**

**Well,he did cried a lot of times as PETER PARKER though.**

… **Heck,having two different identities really troubles me to organize it.**

**And making a fanfic made of a mixture of humor,romance,and angst isn't helping.  
>Not that I'm implying I could make a good one out of that mix. So as long as you give me some ideas,I could try.<strong>

**So, R&R!  
><strong>


	8. Chapter 7

**Hooray! It's another chapter done! I thought I won't make it before the exams.**

**And here I thought that I'm going to lose my usual joke antics regarding Spiderman. Guess there's a use of being the clown of the class. See this chapter for some jokes that's gonna clear your mind like a cup of green tea **

**Disc,: (closes eyes then opened revealing a pair of eyes filled with wisdom) I own not the rights of Naruto nor the rights of Spiderman. **

**But may I say that Stan Lee got his hands on every Marvel film that I think he might possibly cooperates with **_**Kishimoto-san**_** behind the scenes.**

**Chapter 7**

**Ready or Not?**

**Here The Last Test Comes!**

In the end,Spiderman found an apartment. Sure not too big,but quite fancy even though there's a lot of,um,COBWEBS (no offense,Spidey).

And even though Spiderman liked all of the accompanying arachnids,Naruto was certain that the owner would give him a discount if he would clean his room himself. And why would Naruto know that?

Thing is,Spiderman is in the same apartment building as Naruto.

"Why did I agree to do this?",Spiderman was cleaning up his room as suggested by Naruto. Thinking that he could save more money if he could have a discount. But whoever lived in that room before Spiderman was even nastier than the Blob after getting a mud bath and a 3 minutes gym training. But don't get me wrong,Blob can't stand 3 SECONDS in a gym.

3 hours later(I assume you are curious of the constant 3s that's continue to reappear),the room was clean enough for Spiderman to actually live in. Though he let some cobwebs still hanging on the corner of his ceiling.

'If after cleaning this bacteria nest for 3 hours and I still don't have the discount,I'm calling the cops',Spiderman thought. He decided to sleep for a while.

There's a knock on Spiderman's door. And he lazily trying to reach the door. For some reason,his body is as stiff as ever when he tried to move. He opened his door and a mass of pink hair was waiting outside.

"_Huh? Sakura,what are you doing here? It's too early for a Hit and Run tryout"_,Spiderman joked.

Sakura sighed,_"I'm here to wake you boys up"_.

"_Well,that's really generous of you. What's the occasion?"_.

Heck,waking up somebody doesn't need an occasion. At least that's what Inner Sakura said.

"_You forgotten about it? Today's the last test!"_,Sakura said.

That's when it hit Spiderman. Apparently,Spiderman forgot to set an alarm. Which results in him sleeping for 36 hours when he first got to his apartment. And to search an apartment he needed about 13 days to find a suitable one. And yes,I know. Why bother searching for it for so long when he ended up on an apartment not so friendly-looking with cobwebs.

"_Ai caramba"_,(Bart Simpson style)was all Sakura could hear before Spiderman rushed into his kitchen,making some toasts and bacon. Well,he fried it quickly thanks to his Lightning style ability. But that also resulted in series of minty zaps in his mouth when he ate his meal.

'**You know,frying things was normally done with fire elements'**,Raibi said.

'Do I look like an Avatar of Five Elements or something?',Spiderman thought.

"_Alright,let's get Naruto"_,Spiderman said.

"_Did you really put this on your daily routine?"_,Spiderman asked. He can't figure why would Sakura would give out her time just to wake the lazy fox-man Naruto is.

"_Well,if no-one would wake him up,he'd stay in bed or dunking himself with instant cup ramen with half of his consciousness intact"_,Sakura has been ringing Naruto's doorbell for like 10 minutes.

"_Seeing his devotion to ramen,I'll take the latter"_,Spiderman betted.

Amazingly,he is right. Naruto opened his door while holding a ramen cup and biting his chopsticks. And of course,with his eyes closed.

'Now I'm starting to see that he really is the _Kyuubi's_ _Jinchuuriki_'

'**How so?'**,Raibi asked.

'He REALLY moves by INSTINCT'

"_Hng~? Sakura-chan~? What up~?"_,Naruto said lazily. Though,he didn't even made his chopsticks fall.

"_Darn it,Naruto. You always forgot to count days don't you?"_,Sakura complained. Half groaned.

"_Hng~? Sure,um~… Sunday?"_

"_Does the 'last test' ring any bell?"_

For 5 seconds,Naruto's mind was working to generate Sakura's words.

His chopsticks fell.

"_Shimata_(**shit**,I guess)_"_,was all Sakura could here before Naruto rushed in his room and back to change his clothes.

Sakura stared at Spiderman.

"_What?"_

"_*sigh*You two have a LOT in common"_

"_Well sue me for having something in common with him"._

Well,putting aside the Californian French Fries (what I call for a lame joke) above,at last they were on their way to Konoha's Stadium.

"_I can't keep dragging you everywhere in the middle of Sunday's morning,Naruto"_,Sakura protested.

Naruto frowned,_"Dragging? You're not dragging me,Sakura-chan"_.

A smack on the head came in. Leaving Sakura dragging Naruto's half-concious body.

"_Well,now I am"_.

In front of them,they saw Ino walking towards them.

"_Ah,Sakura! Hey,where have you guys been? The test has almost started"_.

"_Well,if Naruto and Spiderman here was smart enough to set an alarm,we've been there earlier"_.

"_Oi,don't drag me into this,Sakura"_,Spiderman complained. Drag. The one word that changed his next 10 seconds of comedy history.

A smack came in and leaving Sakura dragging both Naruto and Spiderman.

'Shoulda watch my mouth,I guess'.

:Ending their walking circus:

"_Oh,so you're Spiderman?"_,Ino squealed.

"_Err,yeah I am. I haven't know you,what's your name?"_

"_My name is Yamanaka Ino. Pleased to meet you,Spiderman"_,she grinned widely. Spiderman studied her looks. She has a platinum blonde hair which is lighter than Naruto's blonde hair. And a light blue eyes with no pupils. She wore a skimpy purple,sleeveless shirt and a matching purple short mini-skirt.

'Talk about turning violet'.

"_I guess you probably should consider on becoming Japan's Next Top Model. Not that I'm saying that there is an audition for that here"_

Ino giggled slightly while having the slightest tint of blush.

"_Well,Ino-pig. You've met your idol. Can we please go now?"_

"_Settle down,forehead. Relax,we'll get there in no time"_,Ino said.

"_Idol,huh. Well,if you say so I guess I got one vote for American Idol"_,Spiderman said.

"_What a lame joke you got"_,Naruto,who just regained consciousness,said while slightly scowling.

"_Better lame than not at all,I'd say"_

They ended up walking together with Ino.

"_Oh,right. Ino,has the kid got his flower yet?"_,Naruto asked.

Ino glanced at Naruto,frowning.

"_How did you know?"_

"_Well,me and Spiderman saved him from a gang of bullies yesterday. And it's near your flower shop so I figured that he might go there"_

Sakura noticed that. She remembered what Ino told her about her cousin,Hiro. That he's one of the gang leaders near there.

Ino, however, maintained her emotions concealed.

"_Oh,yeah. The kid got his flower. And a generous extra from me!"_

"_If you're so generous about it why don't you give him a whole bucket of it?"_,Sakura asked. Relieved that her friend didn't get sad because the incident.

"_Sakura,generosity knows no bounds"_,Spiderman suddenly said.

"_What's that suppose to mean?"_

"_Meaning generosity can be anything in any value to any—Oh,Crap,watch out!"_

None of the other three get who Spiderman was yelling at all of the sudden. Neither of them was in danger at all.

Actually,Spiderman was referring to a girl taking a wrong step on the ceiling of one of the tall buildings in Konoha.

'How the hell did she get up there?'

With no more stalling,Spiderman darted towards the direction of the building the girl is on. Activating lightning-based chakra on his feet.

Dodging all other interference,such as pedestrians and other stuffs,swiftly. The peds can only see a red and blue blur passing through all of them.

Unfortunately,the girl has already taken her wrong step.

She fell,and even with Spiderman's speed,he don't have the time.

'Damn it,I can't go faster'

'**You're not suited on the ground right? Tell me,what's the best thing you got from that nasty bite of yours?'**,Raibi said.

Spiderman thought for a sec. Then he smiled.

He moved his middle and ring finger down leaving the other three straight.

'Webslinging!'

TWHIP! A web line shot out from his wrists and stuck on an electricity pole. He swung himself up,gaining more speed. And now,it's enough to catch the girl.

"_Almost turned into an omelet there,miss!"_,Spiderman called.

The three people left behind can only drop their jaws. Sakura and Ino both looked at Naruto.

"_Don't look at me,I don't know how the hell he did that"_.

"_Guess that's the real reason why they call him SPIDER-man. Not Arachnidinredandbluetights-man"_,Ino said.

Spiderman let the girl down.

"_You okay?"_

The girl was unconscious. Though for certain Spiderman saw her took her own step.

'A sleepwalker?'

'**Not necessarily,I'd say mind control'**

The other three caught up with Spiderman in a short time.

"_What did you do back then?"_,Naruto asked. Of course,in face full of riddles.

"_Nah,just a trick I used to do to swing on the Empire State Building"_.

"_The what?"_

"_Exactly"_

Ino looked at the unconscious girl. She thought for a sec.

"_Hey,how did she fell down anyway?"_,she asked.

"_Well,I'd bet my money on mind-control"_,Spiderman said.

Sakura frowned. _"Mind-control… Ino,that's your family's speciality,right?"_.

"_Yeah. But,then who?"_,Ino shook her head while trying to figure who's the one behind this.

"_No need to turn your heads around. We'll just go up there!"_,Naruto said.

In an instant,he jumped ten feet off the ground. Then started walking on the wall with chakra on his feet.

"_Yeah,I can do that too"_,Spiderman snickered,then jumped and clinged to the wall and started climbing it.

Naruto and Spiderman got on the top pretty quick. Well,at least quick enough to stop the guys behind the act from running away.

"_Oi,kora! Wait a sec!"_,Naruto yelled at the evildoers. Only to make them turn around and show their faces.

It's them. Hyuuga Hanabi and Yamanaka Hiro.

"_You guys again? Man I'm tiring myself for the wrong guys"_,Spiderman said.

Hanabi snorted. _"That's my line. I didn't even guessed that the interference would come from the annoying insect I'm gonna beat in the tournament"_.

"_You,what the hell did you do to the girl!"_,Naruto is already pissed off by what they did and their attitude which was like 'see if I care'.

"_Well,that was all my doing though. The girl passed my path on the wrong time of my mood and,well,you see what happened"_,Hiro said. Which was complied by a death glare shot from Naruto.

"_I'm gonna kick your ass!"_

Hanabi and Hiro already jumped into their battle stance. But Spiderman stopped Naruto from charging forward.

"_Tceh,don't have to get hasty here,Naruto"_

Naruto looked at Spiderman for a moment. Then Spiderman turned his face to the other duo.

"_Look here,kids. Mischievous brats like you should be taught a lesson. But since we're gonna teach you real hard,let's settle this in the tournament,savvy?"_,Spiderman said. (ignore the Jack Sparrow-styled sentence ending).

Hanabi thought for a moment.

"_Heh,I guess you'll just run out of guts fighting with us after we beat you in the tournament"_,she finally said.

"_You're pretty confident,huh? One last question though. Do you think killing a girl like that is acceptable?"_,Spiderman asked.

Strangely,Hanabi grinned.

"_I can do anything I want to any person who gets in my way"_,she said. This caught Spiderman's attention.

"_Because I am the strongest of all Hyuugas!"_,Hanabi said.

Spiderman's eyes widened.

'This girl's—'

They turned around,starting to leave. But Hiro turned once more while grinning to Naruto.

He pointed at Naruto. _"Catch ya later,Kyuubi no Jinchuriki"_.

Naruto froze in his place. He didn't expect to hear that.

"_How did you—"_,Naruto tried to ask but Hiro has fled.

Naruto and Spiderman was left full with riddles.

"_That girl must have a lot of issues,I guess"_,Spiderman said.

"_Yeah. I haven't even met with the other guy. And then,just how did he—"_,Naruto trailed off his words.

Spiderman shrugged. _"Beats me"_.

Sakura and Ino was just arriving at the roof. Only in time to see Naruto and Spiderman.

"_Well,found anything?"_,Sakura asked. She was troubled by the looks of Naruto's face. _'Why is he looking so terrified?'_.

Spiderman decided to talk,_"Not something. Someone. They're the guys that's gonna face us in the tournament"_.

Ino gasped,_"Hiro? HE did that?"_.

"_Yeah,he's the one"_.

"_Ino,isn't Hiro your cousin? The one we met at the flower shop?"_,Sakura asked.

"_Yeah,that's him. But,I can't believe he did this"_.

Spiderman frowned. _"And the guy seems to know about…uh"_,Spiderman was about to continue when he remembered that the secret of being a host of a tailed beast is highly classified.

"…_well,somehow he read Naruto's mind about something"_.

Sakura,knowing what Spiderman was talking about,frowned and looked at Naruto. Ino,though a bit curious to what her cousin has been reading in Naruto's mind,chose to explain about Hiro.

"_I guess his bad habit hasn't go away"_,Ino said.

Spiderman glanced at Ino. _"Bad habit?"_

"_Hiro,like all Yamanakas,has the ability to enter a person's mind using Shinteshin no Jutsu. He always do it to everyone,though. And I guess that's how he knew about Naruto. And he used it to invade other people's mind"_.

Spiderman tilted his head to the side giving a questioning gesture,_"Shintenshin no Jutsu? Well,I don't know about that but that kid didn't even make a single handsign! How could he use jutsu without handsigns?"_.

"_Yeah,that's right. But he uses a different type of Shintenshin,which is called Shinbakushin no Jutsu_(Mind Bind Jutsu)_ and it's useable without handsigns"_,the blonde girl explained.

Naruto then rubbed his chin as if remembering something,_"And I guess there's a Hyuuga too. Umm,who was she again..? AH,the girl named Hanabi! Hinata's cousin!"_.

'_Hanabi,isn't that Hiashi-sama's youngest daughter?'_,Sakura thought.

"_Well I don't know much of the Hyuuga clan. I suggest asking to one"_,Ino said.

Naruto noticed something.

"_Maybe Neji's in the arena too. Guess we better ask him"_,Naruto said.

They all agreed. And then they sped to the arena.

Spiderman and Naruto lined up at the center of the arena joining Misaki and Hiro who arrived earlier. While Sakura and Ino went to search for Neji in the audiences seats.

The referee,Shiranui Genma,still biting a line of senbon. He sighed,_"I guess you're all here"_

The four of them. Hanabi,Hiro,Naruto and Spiderman stood in front of him.

"_All right,begin the last exam!"_

End of chapter 7

**There's nothing much to say about the next chapter.**

**Only to tell you to expect a lot of cool **_**jutsus**_** there : )**

**And yes, in my fic Konoha 11 doesn't know about Naruto and the Kyuubi's relationship.**

_**Jutsu Description:**_

_Shintenshin no Jutsu_ (Mind Transfer Jutsu)- A unique _jutsu_ which the clan Yamanaka specialize in. It's a technique where the user's consciousness overcomes the target's. Making the user able to control the target's action. Only downside is,when used,the user's consciousness leaves his/her body.

_Shinbakushin no Jutsu_ (Mind Bind Jutsu)-….Well,if I tell you what it is now,it will be considered a spoiler. Hahaha,but what I can tell you is it's a new jutsu I created with my limited knowledge of Japanese language. So if anyone could give a right name for it,please tell me in the review. And the reason I called it _Shinbakushin_ is because in Kubo Tite's Bleach there's two kind of spell (or kidou for you Bleach readers),_Hadou_(Way of Destruction) and _Bakudou_(Way of Binding).


	9. Chapter 8

**Reminder to those hoping to see a different kind of fight from the Naruto-Neji fight. I have some good news and some bad news. Good news is,it IS different from the whole 'bird in cage' fight of resolve regarding fate and whatnot. Bad news? One word. Similiarity. Whooops,spoiler alert!**

**Disc,:For those who accuse me having rights over Naruto or Spiderman might as well see the fact that Abraham Lincoln is still pushing up daisies for a proof of me not having any rights.**

**Chapter 8**

**The First Battle Begins!**

**Spiderman**** vs ****Hyuuga Hanabi**

"_The first round competitors: Hyuga Hanabi vs Spiderman! Other contestants,please wait at the upper level"_,Genma said.

Naruto nodded at Spiderman,_"Go slow on her. She maybe an annoying brat but she's still a girl"_.

"_Don't worry. She'll pass out in a sec"_,Spiderman complied.

Naruto and Hiro went to the stairs,while Spiderman and Hanabi remained in the field.

Naruto glanced at the audience seats.

'_We don't know anything about that Hanabi's style. I hope Sakura-chan and Ino find Neji somewhere there'_.

"_Do you see him?"_,Sakura asked.

"_Not yet. Just where is he?"_,Ino said.

Really. The _Hyuuga_s are really talented to locate anything with their Byakugan. But that doesn't make themselves easy to find.

"_Ah,there he is!"_,Sakura found Neji. He's sitting beside Hinata and Hiashi,Hinata's father.

"_Neji,there you are!"_,Ino said.

Neji glanced to where the two are.

"_Ah,Sakura and Ino. What's the matter?"_.

"_Umm,actually…"_

_After a few minutes of explanation.._

"_I see. Yes,Hanabi is one of my younger cousin. That's why we are all here"_,Neji said.

"_Do you know anything about her?"_,Ino asked.

Neji shook his head. _"Not much. Since she's from the main branch of the family. What about you,Hinata-sama? How much do you know about her?"_,Neji turned to Hinata.

Hinata stammered. _"Umm,well I know her pretty well,I guess. We've trained together for a while,too. W-well she knows how to use the Jyuuken really well that she managed to corner me every once in a while in training"_,saying this,Hinata was slightly look up to her father in fear of getting disgusted by her weakness.

Thankfully,Hiashi only smiled and gave a pat on her head,_"Hanabi is really talented by her own means. She could rival Hinata or even Neji if she go all out. Plus,her determination of being the Hyuuga Clan's heiress is giving her all the push she needs"_.

"_Almost as strong as Neji? Is it true?"_,Sakura said.

Neji nodded while sheepishly said,_"Once I took a slip while sparring with her,and she took the chance hitting me with her Jyuuken to my stomach"_.

Ino winced a little,_"Ouch,that gotta hurt.. Hey,isn't Hinata supposed to be the next heiress?"_,hearing Ino's question,Hinata began to shift in her seat. Neji being the closest one to the girls moved his head towards them,_"A sisters quarrel,I guess"_. That,and the seriousness in Neji's face makes both Ino and Sakura had to stifle a laughter. After regaining some breath,Sakura asked to Neji again.

"_If it's true that she can rival you,then it would've been more of an advantage if Naruto's the one who's facing him"_.

Hinata lifted her face so she could see the field.

"_Uh,can I ask you something,Sakura-san?"_,Hinata asked.

"_What?"_

"_Who is the one that's going to fight Hanabi-chan?"_

"_Oh,that? That's Spiderman"_

"_Oh,so he's the backup Hokage-sama has been talking about"_,Hiashi said.

Sakura nodded._ "Judging by how strong he might be,I think he's going to be okay"_,she said.

"_I wouldn't think so"_,Neji said.

Sakura looked at him with a questioning stare.

"_Why wouldn't you?"_

Neji sighed.

"_I already said she can rival me IF she goes all out. Though,it wouldn't make much difference considering that the newcomer is not familiar with the Hyuuga's fighting style. If he is careless,Hanabi will take it all out on him"_

Sakura and Ino stiffened.

"_Plus,she's crueler than I am"_

"_You both ready?"_,Genma asked.

"_Let's start it already"_,Spiderman said. He has grown anxious to fight with Hanabi.

Hanabi,however,chuckled.

"_Hope you're ready to be defeated"_,Hanabi said.

"_My hope reversed"_,Spiderman said while grinning in excitement.

"_Alright,begin!"_,Genma declared the round starts.

Not wasting any second,Spiderman dashed towards Hanabi. Fists ready to be hurled.

Hanabi just stood there while activating her Byakugan. When Spiderman's fist almost reach her,she caught it.

She then launched a kick towards Spiderman's guts. Who in counter,did a low front-somersault over her head while freeing his hand from Hanabi's grip. He also managed to throw some shurikens along the way.

"_Pathetic"_,Hanabi said.

Opening his chakra pathways so that her chakra could envelop her,she then spun her body with high speed. _"Hakkesho Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Heavenly Spin)!"_. With the spin,the chakra enveloping her spun and turned into a giant spinning orb.

The shurikens thrown by Spiderman was blocked and even repelled.

Spiderman landed ten feet away from Hanabi. Alerady waiting for him,Hanabi launched a _Jyuuken_ strike aimed to Spiderman's heart. But,proven futile as Spiderman spun slightly making Hanabi puched through air.

Spiderman then grabbed her collar and spun her in the same way he's spinning. After making a complete round of spin,Spiderman reached out for Hanabi's jaw with his arm in a western lariat style and aimed to drive her down.

But Hanabi is not one of the candidate of the next heir for nothing,she blocked Spiderman's arm in mid-crouch position and kicked Spiderman up. Which failed as he jumped back avoiding her leg.

"_Now that's fancy. But how about this?"_,while saying this,Spiderman ignited his fist with lightning-style chakra.

He punched the air with an open hand.

"_Thunder Zap!"_

The lightning bolts shot wildly out of Spiderman's right hand. Some bolts flew through the air while some crawled on the ground.

"_How many times should I do this for you to understand? Hakkesho Kaiten!"_,Hanabi spun herself again and creating another spinning orb.

The lightning,though,were not blocked liked the previous shurikens. It safely grinded on Hanabi's Kaiten orb and blasted the ground behind her.

When Hanabi finished spinning,Spiderman was nowhere in sight. Hanabi concentrated her chakra to her Byakugan to search for Spiderman.

By the time she found him,however,two web lines were stuck to her shoulders. Shot out by Spiderman who is above her.

"_What the—?"_

"_Sorry,but this might hurt! Spider Web Slam Combo!" _

Spiderman did a somersault,which in process lifted Hanabi up. He kept on doing his somersault which made Hanabi swung roundly up and down like a ragdoll. _"Circular Wheel Air-Slam!"_

Spiderman finally slammed Hanabi to the ground creating a heavy booming noise. Hanabi,after being slammed like that,just bounced after the slam.

Yet,Spiderman shot another pair of web lines and did another slam. This time,it's just a simple ground slam which swung Hanabi up and back down again. _"Half-Moon Ground Slam!"_

It's strong enough that Hanabi bounced off the ground in pain.

Not finished,Spiderman shot a single web line and yanked Hanabi towards him. She thought Spiderman is gonna use the momentum to take a punch. So she put up her guard in mid-air.

Spiderman didn't punch her. Instead,he jumped and shot another web line to Hanabi who is flying towards where Spiderman was when he's still on the ground. Then he yanked Hanabi to him again.

Spiderman did a semi-somersault to position his leg to Hanabi who is flying towards him. With a strong push,Hanabi's body flew upwards while Spiderman flew downwards with another semi-somersault. He shot yet another web line to Hanabi and yanked her down. _"Cat-and-Mouse Chase Slam!"_.

Another bone-crunching slam was made. Literally,Hanabi is taking up a beating.

"_Last one to come!"_,Spiderman yelled.

He shot a single web line to Hanabi. _"Breakdance Throw!"_,while it sounds ridiculous,Spiderman did made a throw with a ground-breakdance move. After a few spins, Hanabi was thrown away towards a wall. And surprisingly, the wall broke.

"_Heh,that ought to teach you a lesson or two"_,Spiderman said.

Neji was fascinated by Spiderman's movements. The technique he used was fast enough to make Hanabi lose track of him. Even when the Byakugan is activated. _"Unbelieaveable. He is strong. Enough to take Hanabi down to the wall"_.

While Ino was cheering,and Sakura is following her with her Inner self's 'hell yeah',Hinata only keep silent. She looked worried and sighed.

"_Hey,what's the matter Hinata?"_,Ino asked.

"_Uh,well. She's not out yet. Hanabi-chan's still there"_.

Ino snorted,_"Well,even if he is,she should've break a bone or two,right?"_.

Surprisingly,she shook her head.

Neji glanced at her,_"Hinata-sama,did she—"_.

"_Yes,she did. She-she knews that she wasn't going to escape Spiderman's slams. And the wall didn't broke because of the throw,either"_.

Hiashi looked at the broken wall Hanabi was thrown to,_"Initials to do the Kaiten,right?"_.

Hinata nodded,_"Yes,father"_.

Sakura frowned_,"So,the wall broke because of her technique? Even so,why would she do that?"_.

"_Simple,to hide her attack"_,Neji answered.

'_Hide her attacks? What could she do from such a long range to Spiderman?'_

Spiderman had a feeling his opponent isn't down just yet.

'_Kawarimi no Jutsu_ (Substitution Jutsu)?'

'**No,she's still there. Don't get overconfident because she's a girl,kid. She's not in the Chuunin tournament without a reason'**

Spiderman finally heard Hanabi said something.

But it's not pleasant. _"Hakke(Eight Trigrams)…"_

Spiderman's spider-sense kicked into high gear. He already started to run,but it's too late.

"_Ku Shou(Sky Palm)!"_. A _chakra_ blast came out of Hanabi's palm in a shape of a car sized-cannonball. Hitting Spiderman's gut and drove him into a wall.

"_Pretty good. You actually realize that my attack is coming"_,Hanabi said. True,Hanabi was actually aiming for Spiderman's head to knock him out. Thanks to Spiderman's spider-sense though,he was able to avoid a 1 hit K.O.

However,the blow did surprise Spiderman. And he's sure he can't eat hotdog for a month thanks to that blow to the stomach, 'That solid chakra just flew off his palm and came right at me? Should've watched that'.

Suddenly,Hanabi is just five feet from Spiderman.

"_This is going to end shortly. You're in my range of divination"_,she said.

'Her what?',Spiderman thought.

_On the waiting level…_

Naruto,who is on the upper level,is standing next to the railings. While Hiro leaned to a wall not far from there. The obnoxious blonde was already surprised by the _jutsu_ Hanabi used to push Spiderman back. Even moreso when he heard about the range of divination.

"_She's going to use THAT jutsu? Gah,this is bad. Spiderman can't dodge all of that attack"_,Naruto,at this point,is gripping hardly on the railing.

Hiro smirked,_"That's right. And along with it,his days as a shinobi is over"_

Naruto got what Hiro meant. The Eight Trigrams palms attacks will close Spidermans _tenketsu_.

'_Can you get out of this,Spiderman?'_

Spiderman was thinking about what Hanabi said. Something about range of divination or something.

'Whatever it is,I bet it's gonna be a risky bet'

Hanabi changed her stance. She lowered her right hand to her front and raised her right hand to her back. He then held his index and middle finger straight while her other fingers were closed.

"_Jyuukenhou: Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou _(Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams 64 Palms)_! "_

Spiderman's spider-sense rang harder than before. He could tell he's gonna be in trouble if Hanabi gets her hits right.

Hanabi dashed towards Spiderman. 'Damn it,what should I do?'

'**Want some advice? Trust your spider-sense'**

'What?'

'**That wicked sense of yours has saved your life tons of times before,I can see that. So why don't have faith in it on this one?'**

Spiderman paused. Then closed his eyes.

Hanabi,who is charging towards Spiderman,thought his actions to be strange. He just stand there.

'_That guy barely dodged my Sky Palm attack. That means he got something backing him up... However,that's not going to be enough'_,Hanabi smirked.

"_Hakke Ni Shou _(Eight Trigrams Two Palms)_!"_

Hanabi began her attack barrage on Spiderman's _tenketsu_. She felt that something is strange.

"_Juuroku Shou_ (16 Palms)_!"_,he kept on going. Every move developing more into more like a dance as Hanabi's hair whipped around. Spiderman moved his body every time Hanabi hit him. But it was such slight movements that made Hanabi thought that her hits was taking effect. Though not so certain.

'_What is this feeling? It feels like he's not affected'_,Hanabi thought.

"_Sanjuuni Shou _(32 Palms)_!"_,she's still doing it.

'_Whatever,I'm going to end this'_,Hanabi thought.

"_Rokujuuyon Shou _(64 Palms)_!"_,Hanabi roared her last couple of barrages.

Spiderman was left with no energy,or so it would seem.

"_It's over now. You can't use your chakra anymo—"_,Hanabi was about to finish her words when she noticed an odd reaction.

She concentrated her _Byakugan_ to see more clearly.

And there she has it. Spiderman's _chakra_ pathways were not closed. Not all of them to be exact. He was left with half of the percentage of his overall _tenketsu_,which really surprises Hanabi since she was sure to he had closed every one of them.

"_How—"_

"_Simple. I dodged it. Or more precisely,I moved my body back 3 seconds faster than your finger jabs. But of course,there are some places I cannot move to dodge your attacks"_,Spiderman explained.

"_But how in the world did you do it?"_,Hanabi yelled. Both in confusion and rage.

But Spiderman answered it with a casual chuckle,then pointed at his right temple with his thumb.

"_Never underestimate my spider-sense,girl. Not even once in your lifetime"_.

End of chapter 8

**Well that's that for that.**

_**Jutsu**_** note: Hanabi's **_**Hakke Kusho**_** technique doesn't really translated into 'Eight Trigrams Sky Palm'. More like 'Zero Palm' or 'Air Wall Palm'. I took the translation into 'Sky Palm' from Naruto Ultimate Ninja 4 video game. And 'Air Wall Palm' I took from online manga. Though I prefer 'Sky Palm'.**

_**Jutsu Description:**_

_Hakkesho Kaiten_ (Eight Trigrams Heavenly Spin)-A _jutsu _which is generally owned by the main branch of the _Hyuuga _family. User of this _jutsu_ releases an amount of chakra out of all of his _tenketsu_. When done,the user then spins his/her body. And by that,enlarging the chakra around him/her into a shape of a dome. An almost flawless defense.

_Hakke Kusho _(Eight Trigrams Sky Palm)-Yet another _jutsu_ unique to the _Hyuuga_. Here,the user blasts what seemed like a wall of chakra or a mass of chakra with the size of a cannonball which pushes the target away.

_Jyuukenhou:Hakke Rokujuu Yon Shou_ (Gentle Fist:Eight Trigrams 64 Palms)-Still another _jutsu_ used by the _Hyuuga _family. This one targets the opponent's _tenketsu_/chakra points and either seals them or enlarge the chakra capacity. User must first activate his/her _Byakugan_.

_Byakugan_ (White Eye _(more or less)_)-A _kekkei genkai_/bloodline limit of the _Hyuuga_ family. A bloodline which enables the user to see a person's chakra points and chakra capacity. Another important feature is the ability to look almost 360o around the user. This feature is used by many for recon missions and such.

Spider Web Slam Combo- A web slam combo in which Spiderman takes chance of every bounce from his opponent's body from every slam to move on to his next slam. (Might be seen in Spiderman:Friend or Foe game while being Spiderman using web line mode).


	10. Chapter 9

**Sometimes I just hated people who invented disclaimers… oh no**

**Now I'm saying the same thing over the same thing because of that darned disclaimer!**

**Disc,:Those who think I own Naruto or Spiderman can go to hell to find any evidence, because right now the only thing I own is my laptop used to write this insanely long disclaimer.**

**Chapter 9**

**The ****Forbidden Jutsu ****of The ****Hyuuga!**

Tension rose up since Spiderman was able to dodge Hanabi's 64 Palms technique. And the audience were all talking to each other about the previous actions. They've never seen anyone who actually escaped the _Hyuugas _near _chakra_ annihilation.

Hanabi was the one who is really surprised. Since she was so sure her technique would really get Spiderman.

'_Damn it. The Rokujuuyon Shou consumed a lot of my chakra just by using it. And that guy just dodged all of it'_.

Sakura on the audience seats is just as surprised as all of the other people. _'Just who is Spiderman? And what is his spider-sense he talked about?'_,her head was full of questions.

And no question that Hiashi,Hinata, and Neji were all shocked by how Hanabi failed to attack.

Naruto is literally dropping his jaw. Though just a little. Well,of course,he knew that Spiderman could really _dodge_. But,of course,he never knew anyone could dodge the attack that nearly took himself out of his life as a ninja.

Spiderman grinned. It's always good seeing people as shocked as this.

"_What's the matter? Afraid all of the sudden?"_,Spiderman said mockingly at Hanabi.

"_Heh,the only thing I'm afraid is hearing you pleading for help later on"_,Hanabi said arrogantly. She's trying to push away her thoughts that she really IS afraid.

I mean, tough break, man. Who would not be afraid if the one you punched said that your hit didn't really hurt him?

Although,Spiderman did lose half of his chakra.

'Well,doesn't really matter. I have my own fighting style even WITHOUT my normal chakra levels'

'**Such as?'**,Raibi asked in Spiderman's mind.

Spiderman sprayed out some web to make a glove out of webs. Hardening his fists.

'**Ah,THAT one'**

"_Well,Hanabi. Since you showed me such an impressive justsu,allow me to show you my old fighting style"_,Spiderman said.

Hanabi doesn't understand what Spiderman meant by his old fighting style. _'Whatever it is,he's not gonna get me'_

Spiderman spread his arm wide to the each sides. By his position,he looks like he's going to charge at Hanabi with full speed.

He dashed forward. Activating his Spider Reflexes to increase his speed. Or,by Spiderman's point of view,slows down the time around him. And he did charged at Hanabi. However,when Hanabi readied to do the _Kaiten_,Spiderman disappeared from his front.

Hanabi has the _Byakugan_,so she knew where Spiderman would come from. She then saw Spiderman coming from behind. When she was about to turn,however,he disappear again.

This time,he's back in front.

"_Where are you looking?"_,Spiderman asked. While launching his fist towards Hanabi. The hit came,but there's more than that. After the hit,Hanabi was sent flying away. But before she gets too far,Spiderman shot a web line to him and yanked Hanabi towards him. _"Yank Behind!"_,Spiderman yanked Hanabi to him. But instead,he ducked in limbo-style so that Hanabi flew to a wall instead.

Hanabi groaned,trying to get up. But Spiderman yanked her yet again.

'_There's must be a reason why most of his techniques involved these kinds of webbings'_,Hanabi thought as she was yanked towards Spiderman,who is waiting with a roundhouse-heel kick. The kick got Hanabi hard. But as if it isn't enough,Spiderman jumped and concentrated his _chakra _to his elbow.

He then slammed his elbow down. It's bad enough that his elbow filled with _chakra_ hit Hanabi on her guts. But then the _chakra_ made a ground-breaking pressure on the ground.

"_Earth-Breaker Punch!"_

That doesn't end there. Spiderman then prepared for a jump,_"Rising Knee Kick!"_,when he jumped, he brought his right knee to Hanabi's jaw and brought her up.

Though Hanabi was able to block Spiderman's knee,she failed to undo the force which lifted her to the air.

Hanabi's Byakugan caught a glimpse of Spiderman's sudden chakra increase,but it's too late for him to do anything about the upcoming attacks.

Spiderman used his chakra to increase the speed of his feet. Preparing for high speed kicks.

"_Stairstep Machinegun!"_,his kicks were unbelieaveably fast. All that was seen on the audience's eyes were some blue blurs down from Spiderman's torso.

Hanabi's only defensive jutsu is the _Kaiten_,but since she has no time,she can only do the initials of it. Spurting out chakra from her body.

Even the Byakugan can barely see Spiderman's kicks.

When Spiderman's kicks were finished,Hanabi was already preparing for backflip landing,though her body is still aching from the kicks.

However,Spiderman webbed him up and then yanked Hanabi towards him. They both were in an upside down position in midair.

'_T-This condition-!'_,Hanabi thought. Though unhappy to remember it,Neji as her older cousin once told her about his teammate's jutsu. The one in green. And judging by the condition she is in,she could not ignore her older cousin's words.

"_That's it! Burn with the flame of youth! Oh,youthful warrior!"_,a boy in green,with a supremely thick eyebrows called.

"_That's right,Lee! The flame of youth burns brightly in this individual! He is going to use our ultimate technique!"_,a man,who has a more extremely thicker eyebrows shared the same, uh, '_youthful_' yell.

Sakura and the others sweatdropped.

Neji was the first one to recover from the sweatdrop, realizing about the technique that Gai was reffering to.

'_Has he met Gai-sensei before? If not,then how could he do Omote Renge _(Primary Lotus)?_'_

"_Let's do this!"_,Spiderman then spun his body sothat what was seen of him is only a spinning blur.

Hence,doing the _Omote Renge_.

Only difference is,Spiderman activated his lightning from every point of his body. Not only it paralyzed Hanabi's body,but it also heightened the speed of Spiderman's spin. Making it look like a lightning tornado.

"_Thunder Cyclone Piledriver!"_,when nearing the ground,Spiderman let go of Hanabi. Causing the white-eyed girl to crash into the ground.

'_*pant*,*pant*_ Sheesh,that last move you recommended took a lot of chakra,dude'

Raibi smirked,**'At least it's enough to make him unconscious for a while'**

Spiderman frowned,'Only unconscious?'

'**If I know the **_**Hyuuga**_**s,they'd already put up some chakra for defense against that kind of attack'**.

Spiderman tried to look at Hanabi's now buried body.

To be exact,the humor of it was really hard for Spiderman to contain. Especially when you see a certain guy gets buried head first in an awkward upside-down position.

Hinata frowned. Being in the main branch just the same as Hanabi makes her realize just how strong and cruel her younger sister could be.

And since she has already trained several time with Hanabi means she knew about the extent of her power.

"_Father,this…"_

"_I know. Neji"_,Hiashi called out.

Neji,getting his uncle's message,activated his _Byakugan_,_"I'm on it"_.

Ignoring Gai and Lee's cry of youth,Neji concentrated his eyes to where Hanabi is. That is, if the Hanabi buried upside-down was really her.

Neji wasn't so surprised to see that Hanabi has replaced herself with a log using _Kawarimi no Jutsu_.

He looked everywhere,but he couldn't take a hint of where Hanabi is.

Spiderman eventually realize that the humor was no more. Since what's there was just a piece of log.

"_Now where'd she go?"_,Spiderman muttered.

His spider-sense weren't detecting any danger nearby. So he assume that Hanabi is hiding. Or so he thought.

Then came a sinister chuckle. Hanabi's chuckle to be exact,though she is nowhere to be seen.

"_Never thought that I'd have to take some hits from a weakling like you. Though,I appreciate that you would force me to use my last resort"_,Hanabi said.

Spiderman looked around,and he still doesn't see her.

"_I would like to give a message to nee-chan _(sister)_ about this. That this is the jutsu I used to beat her several weeks ago. This is the jutsu that only I, the strongest of all Hyuugas can master"_.

Hiashi frowned in confusion.

"_Hinata,what is she talking about?"_

Hinata stammered for a bit. So Neji talked for her.

"_Before this,Hanabi-sama trained with Hinata-sama for this test. I supervised the training. But I guess by what she meant training,she meant 'testing' our family's forbidden jutsu"_.

Hiashi's eye widened,_"You don't mean…"_

"_Quit your yapping and let's just start some ass-kicking!"_,Spiderman yelled in frustration. Not only he still couldn't see where Hanabi is, but her terribly long speech is really boring the hell out of him.

"_You said it"_,Hanabi suddenly said as she appeared above Spiderman.

Spiderman realized that Hanabi's fingers are in the same order as when he used the _jutsu _with that blinding speed to seal his chakra pathways.

'I won't get hit by the same _jutsu_ again',Spiderman thought while smirking.

But to his surprise,Hanabi fled. Or to be exact,jumped a few steps back. Then made some handseals,_"Kin-Jyuukenhou: Hakke Hyaku Nijuuhachi Shou_(Forbidden Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams 128 Palms)_!"_.

While Spiderman made good effort translating Hanabi's _jutsu_,but he'd never guessed about what he'll get next.

Her hands began hitting the air with her fingers still in the same order as before (index and middle finger sticking out while her other fingers retracted).

The next thing Spiderman know, was that he was hit by a lot of invisible shots. And those shots were directed to Spiderman's chakra pathways.

'Urgh,what the hell?'

Spiderman turned his eyes to Hanabi. She's still moving her hands here and there.

While the audiences thought that it was simiiar to dancing, it wasn't to Sakura and the others. Especially Hinata since she was the first one to ever receive that _jutsu_.

Naruto, who still doesn't understand what's happening,half-heartedly asked to Hiro.

"_The hell is your friend doing to Spiderman?"_,he asked,half growled.

Hiro kept his gaze to the arena.

"_That is Hanabi's last resort. I don't know much myself since she never did show it to me. What I know is that the jutsu is a ranged attack. That, and the fact that Hanabi is doubling her opponent's tenketsu sealing"_.

"_Doubling?"_,Naruto asked,this time more concerned.

"_Jyuukenhou: Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou is a jutsu that seals one's whole tenketsu. The only flaw, Hanabi told me, is that there's a possibility that there could be a sudden chakra awakening"_,Hiro explained. At this point,Naruto remembered the time he fought Neji with the help of the Kyuubi's chakra.

The Yamanaka clan member then smirked after pausing a moment,_"Much like the time when you fought Hyuuga Neji"_

Naruto's eyes blared. _'He read my mind?'_

Hiro then continued,_"But Jyuukenhou: Hakke Hyaku Nijuuhachi Shou prevents any kind of flaw like that"_.

Naruto turned to Spiderman,who was still getting hit several times.

Spiderman is trying his best to see through Hanabi's _jutsu_ using his spider-sense. But it was useless, the shots are getting faster every second. It's worse than a machine gun, since he still can see the bullets if it was.

'This girl's jutsu is worse than a freakin' uzi!'

With a groan,Spiderman lifted his right arm,trying to hit Hanabi with his Thunder Zap. But then,after Hanabi finished 64 shots of her _jutsu_,she fled to 5 feet to Spiderman's back.

She then started shooting Spiderman again. Gaining groans as her shots started to hit Spiderman's chakra pathways in his back.

'_127 shots,now!'_

Hanabi jumped above Spiderman,who's now trying his best to keep standing. She readied her chakra on her two fingers on his right hand. Preparing for his last shot,aimed towards Spiderman's highest spot on his head.

"_Hyaku Nijuhachi Shou_ (128 Palms)_!"_,Hanabi shot her last chakra-condensed air bullet.

Fortunately, Spiderman was able to roll out of the way. It was purely by instinct, since he can no longer pay attention to the constant ring of his spider-sense.

Hanabi landed to the ground. _"I'm amazed that you're able to dodge my last attack. If not,you're surely dead now"_

Spiderman tried to stand up, but he can only crouch. His body denying his order.

He then looked up to meet Hanabi's eyes. He frowned as a thought passed his mind.

"_Something tells me *pant* that you couldn't have used this jutsu without training. Though I don't think there *pant* was someone that trained with you to actually use this jutsu to fight"_.

Hanabi smirked,_"Actually,there is. I even almost killed her"_

Spiderman eyes flared,_"What?"_

Hanabi pointed her finger towards the seat where Hinata was sitting.

"_Hyuuga Hinata of the Hyuuga's main branch. She is the one I trained with this jutsu. Well,literally, made her a human punching bag"_,she said while grinning like mad.

Hiashi is at the verge of going berserk. Not only that Hanabi used Hinata to train the forbidden _jutsu_, but the fact that Hinata haven't even told him about it.

"_Why have I not been informed about this?"_,Hiashi turned to Hinata.

Hinata stuttered,_"Uh,well.. Hanabi-chan just said that…that..she was just going t-train for the exam"_.

Hiashi growled,_"Did you know that you could get killed by Hanabi? I don't care if she WAS intending to train,but it is unacceptable!"_

Neji then spoke up,_"I believe all of that is so that Hinata-sama could get stronger"_.

Sakura,hearing all the conversation between the _Hyuuga_s,couldn't help but frowned.

'_So a girl would dare to do that to her sister,huh? I hope Naruto doesn't know about this. He hates those kind of people,I'm afraid that he'd beat Hanabi up'_,Sakura thought.

"_Hinata, are you that willingly to get stronger that you have to push yourself near death?"_,Hiashi turned to her daughter.

"_W-well..you said you wanted me to be stronger than I am. So.."_,Hinata stuttered.

Hiashi turned his sight towards the arena again.

'_I'm amazed that the newcomer manages to dodge that last one. Just who is he? Even Hinata was almost killed'_,Hiashi thought.

Spiderman's eye twitched in anger. He hated guys with no guts of becoming stronger. But he despises those who uses a person to their own needs. Hanabi's statement just proves that.

Hanabi smirked,_"What to do now,webhead? I suggest you give up and go back crying to your mommy"_,she said.

Spiderman glared at Hanabi,but his glare stopped when Hanabi mentioned his mother.

'Come think of it,the bully in elementary school said the same thing',Spiderman thought while mentally rubbing his chin.

'**This is not the time for nostalgic **_**déjà vu **_**you idiot! You got any idea for taking down this girl? Cuz I'm not going to be defeated by some girl!'**,Raibi growled from behind his cage. Sure he don't mind about Spiderman showing off his edge about being a comedian, but for the sake of his nine-tailed butt Spiderman really need to think of something.

'None. That girl already sealed all of my _tenketsu_. Except the one on my head. Though it doesn't make much difference. It won't do no good searching for an idea which requires chakra'. Though he thought like that,Spiderman also knew there's only one way and not another to stand a chance against Hanabi.

'**There's no other choice then,webhead…'**

Spiderman flinched at the idea his prisoner was giving. He doesn't like where this is leading.

'**Guess you better use it. Your black suit'**

And Spiderman cursed mentally.

End of chapter 9

**Guess our hero is taking up a beating there. I guess Peter doesn't have any thinking of actually liking that black suit. Heck,even I believe Sam Raimi questions himself about that suit.**

_**Jutsu Description:**_

_Kin Jyuukenhou:Hakke Hyaku Nijuhachi Shou_ (Forbidden Gentle Fist:Eight Trigrams 128 Palms)-A destructive _kinjutsu_ which belongs to the _Hyuuga_ family. The user attacks the target's _tenketsu_,but it doesn't end there. It actually doubles the attack on every_ tenketsu_. The interesting feature is that it's a ranged attack where the user stabs his/her two fingers in the air and the attack itself has effects on the target.

_Kawarimi no Jutsu_ (Substitution Jutsu):An academy-level jutsu. Substitutes the user with nearby objects. If you never heard about it,go out of your cave and see outside. Welcome to the 21st century,my friend.


	11. Chapter 10

**The writing for my fanfic has really gotten so bad. I mean look! The paragraphs had somehow left the first line normal while the rest of it is stuck on the right side of the page. Well,at least it does when you see it in novel size. I don't know how it will look like on the web.**

**Disc,:I do not own the orange-loving blond or the spandex wearing spider. But I can say that I envy those lucky guys.**

**Chapter 10**

**The Last Resort**

**Rise of The Black Tarantula**

All around the arena, murmurs of the crowd filled the air. Some were talking about the deadly- and forbidden, of course –_jutsu_ used by Hanabi. Mainly consisting the Hyuuga clan members. Others were discussing what kind of idea does Spiderman has at the moment, assuming he had any.

Well, yeah. So he has one idea. But he himself does NOT vote for the idea.

Heck, think about it. You are cutting a carrot using a knife which you once used to kill your drunken friend. Kinda traumatic if you ask me.

'What the hell are you suggesting,Raibi? You know my problems with that suit'

'**Heck, I didn't even wanted to talk about it. But look, your chakra's gone. And you still cannot control my chakra. Remember what happen when you try to do the Rasengan?'**

'True,but can't you think of any other options?'

'**I assure you, that is my last resort'**, Raibi face hardened behind it's cage. He understood what kind of suit it is. He already saw through Spiderman's memory.

Spiderman just stood there,options weighing down his chakra-drained body.

And that opening is what Hanabi needed all along.

She darted to Spiderman and punched Spiderman away with an open palm. Spiderman can only groan as he was thrown back.

"_Already had enough?"_,Hanabi asked. Hating to admit that the referee has the right to call it over when he gives up.

No response came. Hanabi smirked turning to the referee.

"_He's done,ref. Call it over"_

"_Not yet,he isn't. Just look at him"_,Genma said twirling his senbon in his mouth.

Spiderman put all his effort to stand up. A labored breath coming from his mouth visible from his battered mask.

Hanabi clicked his tongue in annoyment.

"_Do you really have to make this painful for yourself?"_,Hanabi asked. Though he wouldn't mind,preffered even,to beat Spiderman up once more.

"_Until I can beat that senseless crap about being the strongest of all and can do anything from your head, I won't stop!"_,Spiderman shouted back.

'**Idiot. Your **_**tenketsu**_** has been sealed. How do you suppose to fight him now?'**,Raibi said.

'The same way I fight my way through bullies in my school. I won't use IT,Raibi. Not even when I have control over it'

Raibi can only shook his head behind his cage. The position he took,which is sitting with his legs crossed and his arms folded,made him look like a principal who caught a delinquent in his office stealing cookies from his cookie jar.

Spiderman tried to shoot a web line. But to his surprise, no web came out. He tried several times more but to no avail, for the only thing coming out is the sound of spurting.

'Great, now what? He even sealed my web _tenketsu._ It's me vs Doc Ock all over again',he questioned himself more than he questioned Raibi. Since he knew that Raibi is going to tell him to use the black suit again.

'**Look,Spider…Peter. I don't know what happened between you and that suit. But this is not the time for denials. You have to'**,Raibi growled.

Spiderman picked several shurikens out from his pouch. Then,he threw all of them to Hanabi while making a run-for-it towards the trees.

Hanabi did another _Kaiten_ to deflect the incoming projectiles. But she failed to realize that there are explosive tags roped to said shurikens.

She cursed as she jumped several feet in the air avoiding the explosions.

Naruto had to make a double-take on what's happening. Spiderman is running away? No,to him Spiderman is anything but a coward.

'_Then why is he hiding?'_,he thought.

Hiro chuckled while still leaning to a wall.

"_That friend of yours is pretty unique,isn't he?"_. Before Naruto had the time to question his meaning,he continued.

"_First beating the hell out of Hanabi_. _Then dodging her attacks. And now he ran away after getting hit by Hanabi. And here I thought I've seen a coward"_,he scoffed.

That pitched Naruto's anger up. He grabbed Hiro by his collar then slammed him to a wall.

"_You try saying that one more time and I'll cut that damnable tongue out of your mouth!"_,Naruto said.

"_Uzumaki-san,violence is restricted when you're up here"_,a voice called out.

Out of nowhere, a rat masked ANBU revealed himself. Which Naruto thought was stationed here as a guard.

Roughly,he let go of Hiro's collar,turning his sight to the arena once more.

Hidden in the tree's shadows, Spiderman took deep breaths to slow his heartbeat.

The second his plan- which was to make a desperate run towards the trees –worked, he contacted Raibi.

'Don't you have anything to help me right now?'

'**Even if I do,I have to transfer it through your chakra system. Which is now all blocked thanks to the kid's **_**jutsu**_**. If you want some help,you got to jumpstart all of your **_**tenketsu**_**'**

'Using the SUIT?'

'**Yes'**

Silence was his answer as Spiderman stood up from the tree he crouched on. Thank God his Spider-sense still worked, for it sensed Hanabi closing in.

'When I die,guess I'll arrange Hades a meeting to take this suit away for his dark army',Spiderman thought,not liking what plan he's gonna use several more minutes.

'**If you say so,I guess..'**,not getting who Spiderman was talking-or more precisely,thinking-about,Raibi nodded anyway.

Hanabi was just preparing for another blast of _Hakke Kusho_ before Spiderman jumped out holding two kunai in each hands.

Spiderman threw both kunais at the same time. Only to be blocked by Hanabi with a kunai of his own.

But two smoke bombs were entangled to the kunais. And when they explode,Hanabi lost sight of Spiderman again.

"_You sure are a coward,using this much hindrance to fight me one-on-one"_,Hanabi taunted. Hoping by taunting Spiderman he'd get a reaction.

"_True,but those who can't defeat a coward are idiots"_,Spiderman taunted back. Which hit Hanabi in the right place.

It is a natural rule,don't taunt the master of taunts,otherwise he'll press your buttons.

"_Why don't you come out here and fight like a man if you are one? You can't hide forever!"_,Hanabi yelled. That does it, no one calls her names. At least back where she came from.

Spiderman smirked and talked back,_"Now who said anything about hiding?"_

Hanabi kept concentrating her _Byakugan_ to search for Spiderman. But the smoke is somehow infused with some chakra to repel her _Byakugan_ ability.

On the other side of the smoke, Spiderman stood in a semi-crouch position, in which he put his weight on his front leg.

'Note to self: Don't ever argue with Raibi. For his IQ and his ability to create a good argument surpasses yours',he thought while smiling to himself.

Closing his eyes, he called for the Black Suit that resided within him. Then he placed his right hand in front of his face covering a part of his mask.

'Alright,guess I have to count on you on this one,you ugly pushover'

Sakura can't see what's happening behind the smoke. All she knew was that the battle haven't continued since there's no sound of any kind of violence.

Just then,she saw a glimpse of Spiderman who stood outside the smoke. She saw him smiled. Of all thing to do in a sense of stress,he smiled.

"_Why is he smiling?"_,she asked Ino for a hint.

Ino shrugged,_"How should I know? Maybe he got a plan or something"_.

Just then,a huge surge of energy blared out from the arena. Even Neji had to cancel his _Byakugan_ because of its intensity.

"_What the hell?"_,Sakura exclaimed.

Naruto,feeling the ominous aura coming up from the arena,shielded his eyes by instinct. Hiro did the same,even the ANBU guard who was with them did.

But the feeling is not the same as Spiderman's usual chakra. It's heavier,darker…

'_The hell is this chakra?'_

When he thought this,he heard a rattle from the cage in his mindscape. He assumed,that whatever that chakra is,had an effect on Kyuubi. It's not everyday the fox showed a sign like that,let alone any reaction.

In the verge of curiosity and panic,Hanabi decided to jump out from the smoke.

She did just that,only to meet a fearsome form of dark energy whizzing near her,nearly cutting her neck.

She then got a full sight of Spiderman,who was now still in a mid-crouch position.

"_If you had this kind of power before,you should've did it sooner. You'd rival my power. Heheh, unfortunately your tenketsu's closed. If I'm right, you can't even use this power"_.

Spiderman had to admit, Hanabi's right. All the while he tried to call for the suit, but it took longer than he expected.

However, it worked anyway. A cool, breeze-like sensation was channeled from his stomach to whole of his body. The same feeling when he got his hands on the symbiote suit in the first place.

He then grinned at Hanabi, who was caught off-guard by Spiderman's reaction.

"_Really? Now you got two wrong points there. One, you are a power abused girl from the start who does not understand anything about power and how to utilize it. And two…"_.

Spiderman paused, then he continued,_"You don't know half of what's happening here"_.

He lowered his right arm, revealing a black spot on the tip of the nose part of his mask. The black spot began to spread.

And all in all, Hanabi knew she was in one heck of a dangerous one-sided battle against a human with ominous chakra flaring out of his body.

The dark spot spread out to cover his red-and-black-web-motived mask, turning it to a black-and-silver-web motived one.

The goo-like substance continued to spread, turning every part of his costume into black. His leg part, the torso part, even it somehow changed the colour of his red and blue jeans into black. The spider logo on the back of his costume grew larger and turned silver, and so does the logo on the back of his jacket.

The last part to cover was the one on his chest. When it was done, the normal-sized spider legs grew out longer. Representing the costume name Spiderman than called out.

"_Black Tarantula, complete!"_,he announced.

End of chapter 10

**Oh YEAH I'm the man! Now you can see the badass type of Spiderman in his black suit. Applause to me *clap clap clap***

**Well,actually the next chapter will be out several days later. I'm too tired to write more-_-**

**My thanks to Kubo-san for giving me an idea for Spiderman's transformation process. Yes,Bleach fans,I did use Ichigo's hollowfication stance for Spiderman's transformation. Sorry**

**Also,again this might be my last update for the week. I haven't finished my next chapter.**


	12. Chapter 11

**Turns out my test was actually at the last days of May. Sorry, informations were though these days. Especially since Osama's death.**

**Oh and sorry for the fake chapter 7 from before. You know,the one which was a prologue copy? Yeah, I got stubby hands. So what else can I say other than sorry?**

**Disc,:I don't own Naruto or Spiderman. I do though,thought that it will be easier to write this if I did.**

**xoxoxo**

**Chapter 11**

**Responsibility**

Upon completion of Spiderman's costume transformation,Tsunade –who was watching the fight from the start– is surprised beyond any limits. She even had to stand from her seat,which was on the top area of the podium.

For her to see the famed black symbiote suit her comrade spoke of before was breathtaking. She expected some chakra outburst,but nowhere at this kind of level.

'_Cynthia,what kind of apperentice did you have all these years? Managing to use the suit like that..nothing short of amazing"_,she thought.

The ANBU guards behind her had to take a step back by the sheer force of the dark aura.

And the fellow Kages,in this case was the Kages from the villages that participated in the Chunin Exam which consisted Iwa,Kumo,and Kaze (yeah you know. Gaara's healed),made a wide-eyed expression of pure shock. All thinking the same thing.

'_Amazing'_

**xoxoxo**

Having to use the black suit again,Spiderman decided not to rely on it too much. But somehow, it felt different.

Before, the suit felt heavy,having the mass of symbiote a lot more before. And there's always this loud screeching noise in his head controlling his anger. Now, it felt lighter. His mind free of any outer control.

Hanabi was the one to experience the heavy chakra of darkness first hand. Having nearly been cut by a stray chakra from before.

'I feel…different with this suit. Never felt this before',Spiderman thought. Just then,he felt Raibi's chakra entering his chakra pathways.

'**There you go,webhead. Your **_**tenketsu**_** are now up and running'**,Raibi said in Spiderman's mind.

Having no other idea, Hanabi lunged towards Spiderman. Spiderman jumped short and landed on the Hyuuga's back in counter. Making her scrape along the ground.

After the short interval, Spiderman jumped away from Hanabi. Who, as his spider-sense warned him, was preparing chakra for another attack. _"Hakke Kusho!"_,she shouted.

Being more agile than his attacker, Spiderman immediately shot out a web line, which worked.

The web line itself stuck itself to a wall. With a mighty pull Spiderman zipped away from Hanabi's _jutsu_. _"You sure are getting more predictable, kid"_,Spiderman taunted.

Frustrated at the unusefullness of her own technique, she slipped into taijutsu stance while holding several shurikens.

At this point, Spiderman who was already clinging to the wall pulled several projectiles of his own. They both threw it simultaneously, resulting in steel-clashing sounds.

Spiderman then shot out two weblines from both of his hands towards Hanabi, who ran back to avoid the web lines. But as if expecting this, Spiderman pulled the webline and used it as a slingshot to fly to Hanabi while igniting his fist with lightning. _"RAIKEN!"_,the punch crashed against Hanabi's jaw and flunged her back to the ground.

**xoxoxo**

Naruto's face contorted from fear to curiosity to relief and then to excitement. While Hiro was experiencing the reverse order of those emotions.

"_Yeah! Now that's something he should've done hours ago! Damn him for making me worried!"_,Naruto yelled in relief while laughing like no tomorrow.

Hiro was getting nervous about how this battle is turning out. Hanabi is as cornered as she is that any high-damaging _jutsu _will knock her out any time soon.

'_And the fact that he charged his punch with lightning isn't helping, either'_,he thought.

**xoxoxo**

Hanabi tried to stand up, but several seconds later she fell on all fours in pain and exhaustion.

All logics flew through her mind. This is not happening. This is all just a bad dream, or some gruesome nightmare. She's the strongest of all _Hyuuga_s for Kami's sake!

That's what she kept telling himself over and over. But the fact that Spiderman is beating her back isn't supporting that thought.

Putting her thoughts aside, she desperately charged some chakra into her hands while doing some handsigns. When done, she pulled her arms back.

'_This is going to cost me. At least maybe I'll get some hits from this'_,she thought.

She took a deep breath,_"Rendan Hakke Kusho_(Eight Trigrams Sky Palm Barrage)_!"_.

Hanabi punched the air numerous times, launching condensed chakra time to time.

Spiderman saw it coming and somersaulted back to the wall dodging the cannonball-like chakra blasts. Then, another one came towards him.

He wall-runned to the side while blasting several impact webs to trap Hanabi. It doesn't work so well, as the nearing impact webs were blasted away by her jutsu. It did however, blocked the white-eyed girl's line of sight as the blasted webs expanded after explosion.

Taking the chance, Spiderman shot a webline to a wall across from where he is clinging and swung forward.

Just in time, Hanabi dodged Spiderman's swinging kick by rolling to the side. Unfortunately, since the end of the web line was too far considering the perimeter length of the arena, Spiderman landed on the ground without able to make a full swing.

That gave Hanabi a chance. Taking another bigger ounce of chakra to his right hand,_"Hakke Taihou_(Eight Trigrams Great Cannon)_!"_,a bigger force of chakra launched itself to Spiderman.

'Just when I thought it can't get any better',Spiderman thought. He jumped back to the tree behind him and then jumped high to the air.

The destructive force of Hanabi's jutsu destroyed what little trees there were which was previously behind Spiderman. Reducing them to flying tree barks.

Spiderman saw that and smiled as he caught a nearby bark and used it as a skateboard on the air. He used it to block incoming obstacles and grind on another flying tree bark.

Hanabi, low on chakra as she is, pulled some explosive kunais and threw it up.

Explosion filled the air and smoke covered where Spiderman's air action was commencing.

**xoxoxo**

Sakura gaped at the sight of the explosion. There's no logical way that Spiderman was able to get away from that.

"_Is he alright?"_,she asked. Particularly to Ino.

"_I don't think anyone could get away from that explosion…"_,she replied.

'_I don't think so either'_,Sakura thought worriedly.  
>But as she thought that, she heard a high pitched screeching noise. She'd heard and recognized that sound anywhere.<p>

"_Rasengan?"_

**xoxoxo**

The high screeching noise continued, allowing Hanabi to search the source. Which, she found, was from the inside the smoke.

To her ultimate surprise, the smoke cleared away in a spinning movement. There, she saw two Spiderman holding some kind of orb with streaking lightning shooting out of said orb. But according to the speed of Spiderman's lunge, Hanabi was still able to jump away from it.

'_Whatever it is, I can't let it hit me. Not that he can hit me, though. He's too slow'_,Hanabi thought and jumped up. The fact that another _Kaiten _dry out her chakra also made her chose evasive maneuver.

A smirk crossed Spiderman's face, or mask to be exact, as he pushed his clone forward with his legs. Launching his clone.

Hanabi's jump was too high for Spiderman's clone to hit. But the clone didn't stop charging forward. 'Almost there',Spiderman thought frantically while maintaining control over his half-finished Rasengan.

Just when the clone is near enough to Hanabi, Spiderman made a tiger handsign with one hand, in which his right hand's middle and index finger is straight and the others down. And then he shouted,_ "Baku RaiTama_(Exploding Thunder Ball)_!"_. The orb which his clone held exploded. Bringing concussive force as well as lightning bolts shooting out wildly.

'Even unfinished _jutsus_ got it's own uses',he thought pridefully. The _jutsu_ he used was actually utilizing his inabillity to maintain control over his auto-lightning charged Rasengan, and releasing his control to make it explode.

The force of the explosion lifted Hanabi higher up painfully while several lightning bolts chased after her. One got a lucky hit on her, and paralyzed her immediately.

As she fell, a grunt was all that could've been heard from Hanabi. She can't move her left hand and legs. Her right hand was still active though allowed very little movement.

Without making a single sound, Spiderman landed not far from her. As he walked toward her, she looked helplessly towards Spiderman while lifting her head.

"_This is impossible. I can't lose to you! I have great power as the next leader of the Hyuuga clan!"_,Hanabi unbelievingly said. Which made Spiderman stopped on his tracks.

He looked down in frustration. He thought all of that beating was enough to get that crap out of Hanabi's head. He shook his head.

"_Hanabi, you should realize by now it's not enough only with power that you could lead a clan. But I guess you haven't, huh?"_,Spiderman somberly said. Hanabi could only give a questioning look as Spiderman looked straight at her while taking a crouching stance.

"_I guess it's better if I knock some senses to you one more time, now"_,as he said that, he gathered chakra around his feet.

With a battle cry, he jumped high to air, leaving a trace of a broken ground and a thin black cloud. He kept going on, shooting two web lines to zip higher to the air vertically.

Once he was high enough, he made a cross-finger handsign and called out his _jutsu_,_"Tajuu Kagebunshin no Jutsu!"_.

**xoxoxo**

Naruto was more amazed when he saw Spiderman literally flew up into the air and made his favorite handsign. _"Why so high up there?"_,he said to himself.

And then, he was shocked once more as the sky above him went black.

**xoxoxo**

Sakura gaped at the sight of Spiderman's shadow clones. The quantity was impossible it rivaled Naruto's extent of shadow clones.

"_It-it even covered the sky!"_,she let out.

Hinata was actually more concerned about her sister's fate. Being unable to move, Hanabi could take on a lot of damage from this.

Silently, she let a single tear fell,_ 'Hanabi-chan…'_.

**xoxoxo**

Hanabi's worry was tripled by the possibility that it's going to be raining shadow clones. So worried, it switched to fear.

She could barely move, her chakra was limited, and her opponent is going to demolish her.

She could only shut her eyes in fear. But then,her _Byakugan _caught sight of water dripping. She thought it was raining since it was so dark, but she remembered it was dark because of Spiderman's clones.

She looked up to see the source of the water drips, and she nearly joined to drip some water herself,_"Hinata-neechan…"_.

**xoxo Flashback Time Machine xoxo**

Hanabi was trading _Jyuuken_ hits with her sister in the _Hyuuga_ compund's training field. Between the clashes, sweats dropped in sync.

She had to admit, her sister was really good to be able to keep up with her all this time. But then discarded that thought with one thing, determination.

Determination to win this spar, determination to be able to win over her sister, determination to be the next clan leader.

Determination to try out her forbidden _jutsu_.

She was in position, and she launched her attack.

As she was nearly at the end, jumped above her sister and intended to deliver a finishing blow to her sister's head.

"_Hakke Hyaku Nijuuha-"_,she was cut off by a powerful force pushing her away.

"_Hakke Kusho!"_,Neji shouted out. His _jutsu_ took a direct hit as he intended and drove Hanabi away from Hinata, cancelling the youngster's _jutsu_.

Hanabi growled at her cousin,_"You're interfering with my spar,Neji?"_,she asked.

"_It looked nothing like a spar to me,Hanabi-sama"_,the boy replied.

"_It was foolish for you to interfere with me, branch member!"_,Hanabi spat with malevolence. But Neji didn't even flinch.

"_Do as you might, Hanabi-sama. But my orders are to protect Hinata-sama from any danger. Even if it cost my life!"_,he said back while entering his _Jyuuken_ stance, ready to fight if needed.

Hanabi was ready herself. But before any of them could continue, Hinata cried out.

"_Wait, Neji-kun! It's okay. I-I was just training with her. She wasn't trying to harm me"_,she said trying her best to ignore the pain from the bruises coming from all over her body.

"_The scars you have on your face says otherwise, Hinata-sama"_,Neji said calmly.

Hanabi didn't like to be pitied. She turned to Hinata intending to yell at her for pitying her, but stopped as she saw her smile warmly.

"_I'm sure Hanabi-chan didn't mean it. R-right Hanabi-chan?"_,she asked in the sweetest voice that it could melt Osama bin Laden's heart.

Hanabi was taken aback slightly by this. Flustered in anger, she unpromptly excused herself and headed to her room.

Once Hanabi was out of sight, Hinata fell to the ground due to exhaustion. While Neji frantically brought her to the medical ward.

**xoxo Flashback Time Machine,power down xoxo**

At that instant, Hanabi was no longer scared of her impending pain. Right now, she was scared of the possibility that she wouldn't be able to see Hinata again. To apologize and hug her in her arms. She tore her gaze from Hinata, once again focused to the gigantic black swarm above her.

No longer was the look filled with fear. Now it was switched with another thing. Regret.

Regret that she didn't have time to apologize to her sister for all of her wrong actions towards her. Regret that she didn't give a damn about her own clan. Regret that she was too into being the clan leader that she didn't think twice about using her clan's forbidden _jutsu_.

She came to accept that her opponent was right all along. _'He said, "It's not enough with power alone to lead a clan". I'm sorry, but I don't seem worthy of knowing about the other part for leading a clan'_,she thought. Hence, she closed her eyes and waited.

This didn't escape from Spiderman's sight. He then lined his arm straight to the side and called out to his clones,_"Guys, let's rock n roll! Omega formation!"_. The huge masses of black clones gather up to Spiderman's open palm. All of them were being stacked up on one another as they landed on the webhead's hand. Once finished, it resembled a gigantic black ball. 1/4 of the whole arena.

He calmly looked down to Hanabi, who was still lying on the ground. Surprisingly for the hero, he received a nod from her as she mouthed,_ 'Make it quick'_. That was enough for him to comprehend the meaning.

She was ready.

"_Symbiote Gigant Human Spikebomb!"_

**xoxoxo**

'_No..it can't be…'_,Naruto thought.

All this time Naruto thought that Spiderman was going to hold back on Hanabi since he already gained the upper hand. He didn't think his friend was going to demolish the _Hyuuga_ heir.

'_She won't be able to get away from that!'_

He looked at Spiderman and cast a hard gaze at him,_"Stop it, Spiderman! YOU'RE GOING TO KILL HER!"_,he shouted. Too late, though. Spiderman already threw the oversized clone ball.

**xoxoxo**

Instantly as he called out, the clone formation pushed out legs from every part of the gigantic ball. And then, Spiderman threw it down to the ground.

Time seemed to slow down as the spikebomb descended down to Hanabi. As for her, there was not a single doubt in her and she didn't budge any bit from her place. Spiderman didn't stop his attack, at all. He didn't bother to shoot a webline to pull the giant ball back up. There's no stopping it.

However, as the ball neared it's target, it poofed away, leaving a shocked Hanabi below.

It would seem that Spiderman dispersed his clones before they hit Hanabi. As he fell, the cunning arachnid shot a web line to the edges of the arena and swung down.

He landed beside a stunned Hanabi. He saw the puzzled look on Hanabi's face. He sighed as he put his right hand in front of his face and chanelled some chakra. Cancelling his black suit with wave.

"_Congrats, you passed"_,he said.

Hanabi didn't tear her glance from Spiderman as she asked,_"Why?"_

"_Why, you ask? Well, the appropriate answer is out of responsibility"_,he said.

"_What?"_,Hanabi breathed out.

The masked hero sighed as he knelt down beside Hanabi. _"A while ago, you said that you had great power as the next heir of your clan. I understand at that time that you're oblivious to the other part of leading a clan"_

"_And that other part is….responsibility?"_,the _Hyuuga_ heir candidate asked nervously.

A firm nod from Spiderman confirmed her question,_ "I was taught that power and responsibility comes as one package. You can't deny that without power, leading a clan is impossible. But without responsibility to contain it, that power can turn on you and your clan member"_. He glanced to Hinata, who still looked to Hanabi with concern in her teary eyes.

"_Remember this Hanabi…"_,he said as he turned his head to Hanabi,_ "With great power, comes great responsibility. That's my advice for you as well as it is my nindo"_

Hanabi's eyes widen ever so slightly as she lower her eye slowly from exhaustion.

"_So…that's it. I…hope I will have…both of tho..se"_,she said lazily as she drifted to sleep.

Spiderman looked to her with sadness,_"You have the power, Hanabi. One day, you will have the responsibility. I hope you'll become a great clan leader"_,he said.

As he walked to Genma and signaled him to call it over, the senbon-biting jounin declared the end of the match.

"_Winner, Spiderman!"_

End of Chapter 11

**xoxoxo**

**Now THAT'S what I call a superb ending…not. Well, I can't judge my own writing. So I hope you readers say something in the reviews. What's a writer without anyidea what to write,right?**

**R&R!**

_**Jutsu Description:**_

_Rendan Hakke Kusho_(Eight Trigrams Sky Palm Barrage)- A _jutsu _development from the original _Hakke Kusho_. Think about the normal one with greater numbers as long as the user maintain his/her palm movements. It's pretty dangerous if you have to fight against this _jutsu_ when the user's chakra is still full.

_Hakke Taihou_(Eight Trigrams Great Cannon)- Also a development from _Hakke Kusho_. But instead of numbers,it grows in size. From a normal,cannonball-sized one to the maximum of the size of a house.

_Baku RaiTama_(Exploding Thunder Orb)- Spiderman's unfinished version Rasengan. In which he release his control over the orb, causing explosion force and lightning bolts to spread. One hit of the bolt paralises an opponent. More hits results in heart attacks (maybe). It's one step of completion for his own jutsu of my own thinking.

Spiderman Gigant Human Spikebomb- Spiderman's move where he gather up his mass of clones and formed a giant ball. When signaled the clones will bring out their legs to resemble a spike ball. …just imagine Goku's Spirit Bomb, but a black, spiky one.


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 11 really took a toll on me. I was in lost of idea for quiet a while. After all,the next battle is Naruto's battle. It has to be UBER-Cool. And I was looking for an epiphany to continue this fic until I came across a thought. Which brings us to this chapter. Oh yeah,I've been thinking about some NaruHina fans out there who also wrote fanfictions. Some of them are pretty nice and it's worthy to read. To be frank, I had read some though I'm a NaruSaku fan. But some of them, I won't tell who, write their fics with Sakura taking up a hell lot of a beating. Mentally AND physically. I think it's because their trying to boost their angst-meter or some of them DO hate Sakura. But please, if you want to write fics that are judged to be worth reading by any type of fans, you might want to lay off the hate for the pink-haired heroine. And I quote from those corny alien invader line:**

"**You were warned"**

**Disc,:I don't own Naruto or Spiderman. I don't have any money to buy their rights anyway.**

**Oh, and I decided to use some cross and circles as point of view changes. I've done all my chapters using lines as the separator but it didn't show.**

**Rewritten!**

**xoxoxo**

Chapter 12

**Next Match: Uzumaki Naruto vs Yamanaka Hiro!**

After the big battle, Spiderman walked slowly to the upper level while Hanabi was carried away by the medics. He looked up meeting Naruto who was doing his own variation of victory dance with his shadow clones. While Hiro remained impassive and the rat masked ANBU was shouting at Naruto about something considering _jutsu_ restriction on that area.

'Knowing him, that ANBU might have a long time telling him to shut up',he thought while grinning.

As he reached upstairs, he was greeted with a bonk to the head courtesy of Naruto.

"_Damn! I thought you were going to kill her,dude! You're SUPER-cool back there!"_,the blonde let out as he can't seem to restrain his smile.

Rubbing the back of his head, Spiderman scowled and gave a counter-bonk to his friend's head,_"That doesn't mean you have any right to smack me on the head, you whiskered freak!"_,he yelled. It ended in a childish brawl with smokes and dust covering them while the previous ANBU kept trying to tell them to restrain any use of violence. Left out by the others, Hiro was on his own with his own thought.

'_With Hanabi in that state, she won't help me and my gang anymore. *sigh* One less member to worry about, then'_.

A booming sound came from the arena,_"Will the next contestants, Uzumaki Naruto and Yamanaka Hiro please come down to the arena please?"_,Genma shouted. Obviously annoyed that the previous and the next fighter decided to continue the fight upstairs.

The ones upstairs flinched, except the ANBU, and then both Naruto and Hiro were making their way down until Spiderman called Naruto.

"_Oi Naruto,one sec!"_.

A questioning look was the reply before the blonde _jinchuuriki_ made his way back to Spiderman. _"What?"_

"_Look, he's a mind controller. And what Ino told us was that he don't use any handsigns to use that jutsu. So try as much as you can not to think when fighting him"_,Spiderman instructed.

"_How should I fight without thinking? I always think when I fight"_,Naruto argued.

"_I hope I assume right. The kid can't get a lock on you when you don't think. It's what every mind reader targets for, mind signals"_

Naruto scrunched his face,thinking. _"So,it might be okay if I fight without thinking?"_.

Spiderman nodded. And as the orange-clad ninja ran down,Spiderman shouted out,_"Kick his ass,man!"_.

A thumbs up in reply was all he needed.

**xoxoxo**

Sakura and Ino were chatting something after Hinata had left for Hanabi. Neji stayed with them saying that they may need some private time. Lee has joined them, too, while Gai was somewhere else, probably continuing his rant about 'the infernal flames of youth' as he put it. Alright, back to Sakura and Ino. At one point, the talk would consider about Naruto's fight and Sakura would look back to the arena to check. Once Naruto had reached down to the arena, all the talking began to quiet down.

Sakura could swore that from two lines behind her she could hear someone said 'the demon kid' and she is really restraining herself from taking one of her mammoth punches to their face for insulting her friend and teammate like that.

Downstairs, though, Naruto doesn't seem to mind at all as he kept walking to the center of the arena.

Ino noticing her friend spacing out waved her hand in front of her to check,_"Hey,Sakura! You okay? You were spacing out for a while there…"_.

The pink-haired medic snapped out of her trance in shock that she was silent for some time now,_"Ah, sorry, sorry. I was just thinking about how Naruto is going to fight your cousin. I mean, the way I remember him he doesn't fit that well with genjutsu users and mind controllers. I hope he has a plan"_,she said while flashing a smile.

"_Well, one way to fight Hiro is to not let you get a hold of your mind. If he did, then he could do anything to your mind. And…"_,she stopped as she felt reluctant to continue explaining.

"_And…?"_,Sakura asked in worry as her friend's words were unfinished.

"_If..if he use enough chakra…he could very well destroy it as well"_,the Yamanaka heir said.

Everyone's eyes, in this case Sakura, Neji and Lee's eyes widen (even though it seemed impossible for Lee) in shock. All they could do now was to pray that Naruto won't let Hiro slip into his mind by any chance.

**xoxoxo**

"_So, you're both ready?"_,Genma asked as he twirled his senbon in his mouth.

Naruto just got there several minutes after Hiro. He, as instructed by Spiderman, tried his best to not think of anything before any thinking was needed. Hiro glanced at Naruto and, upon seeing his calm face, noticed that his blonde opponent is aware of his ability. _'Hmm, impressive. He is able to clear his mind to counter my jutsu"_.

A nod of approval from both sides confirm his question.

'_I'm looking forward how this going to proceed'_,he thought as he signaled his hand in a chop-like fashion to start the match.

"_Begin!"_

As the signal went, both fighters ran towards one another and engaged each other in a fast, taijutsu fight. With Naruto being slightly faster thanks to his 2 year of training with Jiraiya.

As they trade punches and kicks, Hiro tried to catch Naruto's mind signals to enter his mind. Only to find that the blonde shinobi was not emitting much mind signals as Hiro thought he should've. _'Guess someone must've figured out what I was aiming for,huh? No matter…this won't take long'_,the black-haired teen thought.

Naruto made his favorite crossed-handseal and called five shadow clones,_"Kagebunshin no jutsu!"_. Hiro took notice of the numbers of clones Naruto made and couldn't help but to think that he's not going too seriously in the fight. He tried to bait him nonetheless,_"Kagebunshin already? I see you're wary of my ability…a wise move that I can't determine who's mind should I target"_,Hiro said.

"_Don't try to bullshit me. You know that no matter how much clones I make their minds are still one with me. So don't think about baiting me"_,Naruto said and signaled his clones to charge at Hiro all at once. Hiro's hand went to his utility bag behind him and pulled a string with a lot of kunais tied to it,_"I'm not that good at taijutsu. This should do!"_,he said as he grabbed two kunais from each of the string's end and threw it. Hence, the kunais flew in a spread fashion and each of them hit the designated spots on the clones. Cancelling them away. As the smoke covered Hiro's sight, he relied on his ears for any faint sound. He glad he did, as he heard a whizzing sound of a _kagefusha fuumashuriken_ cutting the air and the smoke, going straight to him.

He ducked down and rolled forward to dodge the oversized shuriken and then jumped front to impale a kunai through Naruto's chest.

Sharp gasps could be heard from around the arena as they saw Hiro rammed his kunai into Naruto. There's a different perspective for each person. Sakura, for instance, covered her mouth in shock of the scene before her. While Spiderman, who was currently trying to recollect his lost chakra by meditating snapped at the sight. But then he relaxed as he didn't see any blood coming out,'Smart one, Naruto. Smart one indeed'.

Before they knew it, the Naruto who the audiences thought was dying from the ninja knife poofed out of existence. It's a clone,obviously. A bewildered Hiro was stunned even more as he heard another poof behind him. By instinct, he turned around to find the earlier _fuumashuriken_ was transformed into Naruto who flunged several shurikens towards him.

'_A henge? No way he has thought about this just before!'_,Hiro thought. But he doesn't have time to ponder about what the Trickmaster of Konoha has up his sleeves as he was struggling to dodge the oncoming projectiles. The last option was to jump up to get away from the shurikens. He did, only he didn't expect Naruto to land a downward heel kick which he had to block. He also didn't expect that the kick wouldn't be the end of the blonde's attack as he felt several more clones joining the party. The first clone kicked Hiro down while another elbowed his stomach, all bringing him down. The rest of the clones grabbed his arms and legs and drove him plummeting to the ground. The real Naruto was not far behind as he rallied his legs to prepare for a crushing stomp,_"Kage Shishi Rendan _(Shadow Lion Barrage)_!"_,he shouted as he landed hard on a flat down Hiro. However, the Yamanaka got away using a _Kawarimi_ to replace him with a rock.

And you know? Of all reaction to have in a fight, Naruto's reaction was to wince and whined,_"Ouch, boo-boos"_,and to clutch his legs as the vibration feedback came from the rock and chanelled through his feet.

This didn't escape the audiences watch and they all had a sweatdrop so big it could fill the Amazon river.

**xoxoxo**

"_That baka. I thought he's gotten pretty cool before he blew it all with his goofyness"_,Sakura muttered while slapping her forehead.

"_Well, what do you expect? He IS Naruto after all"_, Ino said while shaking her head. The other two boys nodded in agreement. Lee then spoke,_"Wasn't that youthful move one of Sasuke's old move? I thought it was familiar"_.

Sakura pondered at the thought. Yes, part of that was one of Sasuke's move minus the clones. The other fact that Sakura pondered on was that how Naruto was able to remember that move from long ago whilst trying not to think at all. _'I'm the one with the big forehead and he has stronger memory than I do'_,Sakura thought.

'_**He may be an idiot. But that doesn't mean you're a smart-ass, either'**_,her inner self added. _'Shut up'_,Sakura thought back.

While Sakura was having a debate with her inner self, which is scary when you're a normal kind of guy, Ino was having a thought herself. Why was her cousin taking so long to take over Naruto's mind when he could do it when the fight begun? Not that she hoped that would happen, it's just weird considering Hiro's attitude. Knowing him, the last thing he'd do was to fight until he exhausted his own chakra.

Ino didn't know the extent of Hiro's _Shinbakushin_, never seeing it herself. And to add the mystery, none of the earlier Yamanaka family even had that unique ability. All of that sums to one question, indeed. _'What is he waiting for?'_

**xoxoxo**

After the comical scene, Naruto stood up searching for Hiro. Sadly, he doesn't have any ability of tracking things. Such as Neji's Byakugan, Kiba's sense of smell or even an acute sense of hearing. He squinted his eyes trying to focus on his surroundings. He tried to identify the rock that his opponent replaced himself with, which didn't giveany fruition since there's too many damn rocks everywhere thanks to Spiderman's earlier fight. His last hope was to concentrate hard and think of a way to locate the black haired boy.

But another second later, he quickly regretted his action. Thinking. Instantly, he felt his body go stiff as his mind felt like it was being grabbed. He can't move, his arm twitched by trying to do so.

"_Shinbakushin no Jutsu_ (Mind Bind Jutsu)_"_,Hiro said from behind Naruto. Holding a ram handsign in front of his face.

'_Damn, he got me!'_,Naruto thought.

"_That's too bad. Your mind is in my hands now and I can do anything I want with it"_,Hiro said while having a maniacal grin plastered to his face. There's no stopping it, even Genma couldn't do anything since the fight was still in the safe line. Though, he hasn't tried to stop the fight either since he didn't know what's happening. Also since he's oblivious to the fact that Hiro could very well destroy Naruto's mind with enough force.

"…_Well, now. Before we destroy you, how about I torture you for a while?"_,the tone he's using, was not a question. Rather, a suggestion.

From the ram seal he's holding, he changed it into a rabbit seal (to those who don't know the handsigns, just think a half tiger handsign on each hand and stack your right hand on top of your left hand). Naruto's sight was blackout until everything turned white.

'_What the hell? Where am I?'_,the blonde jinchuuriki thought.

'_Where else? Your subcouncious, of course'_,another voice said.

Naruto turned his head in alarm and was greeted the sight of Hiro. _'What in the world are you doing here?'_,he asked with a growl. Hiro chuckled,_'The jutsu I used enabled me to take over your mind. As such, I could also enter your mind like this'_,he said.

Naruto clenched his fist and was about to lunge into Hiro before said black haired-boy held his palm in front of him telling Naruto to stop, _'If you think you can fight me here, you're wrong big time. I'm a master of mental attacks, and I could do anything both possible and impossible in a person's mindscape using my jutsu. One wrong move, and you're done for. Not to mention your real body is still frozen in place, making a perfect target.'_

'_Yeah, Ino told me about your jutsu. She also told me that you can destroy my mind,too. But that doesn't explain why you're here'_,Naruto growled out. _'Oh, I never thought my cousin would be such a motor-mouth. No matter, did she also told you I can do this?'_,he said as he waved his hand to reveal another terrain. A watery, sewer-like surroundings. And instantly Naruto knew where he was as the big cage in front of him proclaimed what area he's in.

The Kyuubi's cage.

End of chapter 12

**xoxoxo**

**Ahh, my shoulders hurts and my brain aches. Frankly, thinking about Hiro's jutsu and it's ability was beyond me as it could root anywhere. I'm just glad a good cliffhanger was possible to end this chapter.**

_**Jutsu Description**_

_Kage Shishi Rendan _(Shadow Lion Barrage)- Just a version of Sasuke's _Shishi Rendan_ whereas this one uses clones and the ending hit was mildly different. Think of Naruto's _Uzumaki Naruto Rendan_ with a slight _Shishi Rendan_.

_Shinbakushin no Jutsu_ (Mind Bind Jutsu)- Hiro's jutsu. Mark this, HIRO'S jutsu. Apparently, none of the other Yamanakas had this jutsu to their arsenal. The reason why Hiro is the only one who possesses this unique technique (wow,that rhymes) is unknown. What it could do was beyond the reaches of _Shintenshin _or _Shinranshin_ ever could. For the user could enter the target's subconscious and toy with it until he destroy the target's mind.


	14. Chapter 13

**Hey, you know what? I've been reading a fanfic that was mostly consisted of drabbles and I can't seem to put my finger on it. The writers angst-meter is above the roof my eyes hurts when I read it. And when I came back to write this fanfic I thought, 'Thank God I didn't put Angst category in this fic. It'd suck'**

**Disc,: Me+(Naruto+Spiderman)+ownership=never happened.**

**xoxoxo**

**Chapter 13**

**Memories…Weapons That Consume You**

The arena was silent as the wind blew softly, lifting the dusts on the ground. Both fighters had ceased any movement right after Hiro used his _jutsu_. The crowds were silent, and so are the Kages. No one spoke a single word, and that's what really unnerved Spiderman. The silence unnerved him. Made his senses go numb.

Well, every other senses except his Spider-sense, of course. Since it was ringing all along making Spiderman regretted the fact that he didn't bring some headache pills along. Even Raibi was getting annoyed by the danger-alarm. 'What's going on in there? Did Naruto got caught?'

'**By my perspective? Yeah, the kid's mind is in the other brat's control'**

'The hell's happening? My spider-sense won't quite down'

'**It's the Yamanaka boy's **_**jutsu**_**. I guess it's really powerful that it disrupts Naruto's mind'**

'What does that had to do with my sense going wild?'

'**This is bad. I can sense them going to Naruto's subconscious. They're going for the seal!'**

At the mention of Naruto's seal, Spiderman's attention snapped back to the arena. 'No one knows what'll happen if they mess with the Kyuubi's seal. God help them',he thought.

**xoxoxo**

They're in front of the cage. A big cage with a dark red painting on the bars and a paper with the kanji _Seal_ on the top working as a lock.

The Kyuubi's cage. It's been a while since he last came here. He didn't thought he'd come back on his opponent's whim. _'What are you going to do?'_,Naruto asked.

'_Well, there's two things I could do. One, I could mess up with your head so bad you'll wake up with an IV tube going for your head. Two, I could wake up big furball back there'_,Hiro said pointing to the cage. A rattle could be heard and Naruto stomped forward,_'Don't you even THINK of doing anything with him OR the seal!'_,he shouted.

Hiro chuckled,_'Whoa, and you're the one worried that he'll wake up. You seem very protective over your bijuu, jinchuuriki. Well, what'll happen if I wake him up then?'_.

'_You…do you even know what's going to happen in the real world? He's going to kill everyone there'_,Naruto growled. Hiro laughed out as if that doesn't matter to him in the slightest bit. _'Well, what I can tell you, there will be a lot of blood'_.

With that he plunged his hand into the sewer water and chanelled some chakra. In seconds, the water began to shake and there's a white line going from Hiro's hand towards the seal. When the light connects with the seal, Naruto's subconscious terrain shook a little, but nothing more happened. Thank God, nothing happened.  
>A confused Hiro turned his gaze to the seal.<p>

It's still there, unbroken, unwavered, unaffected.  
><em>'What's the matter? Can't remove the seal?'<em>,Naruto said tauntingly.

Hiro stood up glaring at Naruto_,'It seems that something is protecting the seal. I can't get through'_. The blonde ninja scoffed in reply,_'Of course you can't. As long as my mind is stronger than yours, you could never beat me!'_  
>Sadly,that comment accidentally gave Hiro a clue. <em>'Really? Then I guess all I have to do is to weaken your mind and then I can take that seal off'<em>,he said smirking.

Naruto flinched at that, but remained still nonetheless,_'Is that so? How are you going to do that, smart-ass? You can't even beat me physically'_. The black-haired boy began to walk further from Naruto to the left where a door was located. That's strange, Naruto didn't realize there was a door there at all.

'_Don't you realize? Guys that are strong in brawn are usually weak at the mind. Like you are seeing the kind of idiot you are'_,Hiro said while taunting Naruto. A vein literally popped on Naruto's temple in annoyance. But it died down as Hiro reached the handle of the door.

'_What are you going to do? And what's that door? I've never seen it before'_,Naruto asked.  
><em>'From what I've seen through people's minds from all these years, this door was supposed to lead to your memory bank. Now it's from there where the fun started'<em>,Hiro said while grinning sadistically as he added,_'If you want, you can come with me to see your own memories. It's better than doing nothing here'_.

Naruto hesitantly walked towards the door as Hiro held it open,_'After you'_,the jet-black haired teen said. Naruto ignored the gentleman act as he walk through the door. Said door closes instantly as Hiro went in. They're in Naruto's memory bank now. Everything was white, save for the door behind them.

In front of them, Naruto could see lines of rectangle-shaped figures glides at constant pace in a circular motion, resembling a slow-spinning typhoon. The figures, somewhat resembles photographs. As the line resembles that of a film. _'Is all this… my memories?'_

'_Of course. It's what your brain recorded from the very beginning when you opened your eyes to when you were fighting me in the arena. Take a look'_,he said pointing at one photograph with a picture of a flying _fuumashuriken_ on it.

Naruto noted that every other pictures were made a first-person point of view. Hence, there's no pictures of himself. Then he glared at Hiro,_'So what does all of this had to do with anything?'_.

Hiro kept walking as he said,_'Well, shortly, you're going to experience your every nightmares throughout your life. Every heart-breaking memories, the ones you purposely forgotten about, are going to be replayed in your mind'_. Naruto laughed at this,_'Sorry, but nightmare could only get you so far as me having cold sweats running down'_.

'_We'll see about that'_,Hiro said as he stopped at one spot. Naruto was about to question him when he looked to the memory beside him. He saw…himself. The memory was one which had Naruto looking to a mirror. He observed the other memories surrounding the particular one Hiro stopped at. He saw what he never thought he'd have to see.

He saw a battle-torn Sasuke with needles piercing into his body from various spots. As he snapped back to the memory which consisted himself, his eyes widen as he realized the thick whisker marks in his cheeks.

He remembered now, the mirror… was an ice mirror. Courtesy of one boy called Haku. That memory was about the battle on the bridge!  
>Hiro began to chuckle,<em>'Jackpot'<em>,he let out.

**xoxoxo**

Back to the real world, every corner of the stadium was filled with whispers and murmurs. Mainly discussing about the long pause the fight was having. Even the Kages grew wary because of this.

Sakura was getting more and more worried as the seconds passed, she asked as she looked at Ino,_"Don't tell me his mind is already destroyed"_,she said hesitantly. Thankfully, Ino shook her head.

"_If it already happened, Naruto wouldn't be standing right now"_,the blonde said. In truth, she didn't know fully about what was happening to both fighters as she didn't see anything out of picture. But then suddenly she, along with Sakura and every other audience, snapped abruptly as a blood-curdling scream erupted from the arena. The voice…was Naruto's.

Sakura looked down to the arena only to find Naruto was down clutching his head in agony. As if someone slammed a metal-hammer to his head.  
><em>"Wha-what's happening? Why's he screaming Ino?"<em>,she asked, albeit with a yell, to her blonde friend.

"_I-I don't know!"_,she said.

The scream continued as Naruto's mind was being wrecked.

**xoxoxo**

The pain…was beyond description. Beyond comprehension. His every nerve was on fire as he experienced the rage back when he was fighting on the bridge. Consumed with the heat of vengeance, his body felt as if it bursted into fire. It continued for what felt like hours until the pain subsided leaving an exhausted Naruto on the ground. _'Wh-what did you do to me?'_

'_Well, poor you. I forgot to tell you that any emotional damage you had in your memories would by you back in here. Since of course, this is your MIND'_,Hiro said in mock concern. Naruto growled as he tried to stand up, barely able to do so. Hiro then added,_'I wonder how long you'll fare against yur own memories when the Kyuubi's healing chakra won't heal you'_.

'_Of all times the bastard fox tried to betray me he chose this time? Damn it'_,Naruto cursed. Hiro clicked his tongue as his forefinger moved left and right,_'It's not that he didn't want to help you. It's just that his chakra was usually used for healing physical damages. He cannot, however, heal his cager's mind'_.

Naruto clenched his teeth in rage and frustration. Great. The fact that the big-furball can't even do anything right now only serve to add his problems more. And moreso as Hiro began to browse for more of Naruto's painful memories. _'Stand up. It's only round one'_,Hiro said.

The swirling vortex of memories stopped abruptly as Hiro found another memory of his choice. Naruto's eyes caught the sight of a mass of angry-looking people, ganging up on him, on the photo-like figure. It's one when he was still oblivious to why would the villagers hate him. It's the one which reminded him with a lot of loneliness. Hiro smirked at the memory of his choice and touched it. The second later, Naruto felt freezing air around his body. Breathing was hard as every breath was freezing his lungs.

'_Every emotion has their own affinity. Rage connected to heat. Loneliness and sorrow with freezing chill. And don't get me starting for every other ones'_,Hiro explained. Whether he said that as a warning or as a threat issue, Naruto didn't have time to think about. He was sure right now, his physical body was freezing to death just like he was now.

'_Hmm, I guess we better move on to another one. And I think this one's going to be your last one because as you can see, your mind is wavering'_,Hiro said as the vortex of memories spun once again until another it stopped and one particular photo. The photo was in line with several other parts of it.

Those ones, Naruto didn't think he'd have to face them again. He can't take it. His mind is close to shutting down, which he can't let happen as if he does, Hiro would mess with the seal one more time.

The first photograph had on it a mass of pink hair. He didn't need to look at it for too long, since he believed that it's the one containing the most grief. Several more photographs until he find the one with a Sasuke in his Curse Seal Level 2 mode with a black Chidori on his left hand.

Hiro chuckled,_'Let's do this'_,he said as he touched the first memory.

Naruto's vision became blurred. When it cleared, it revealed the scene where he was preparing to go save Sasuke. Before Sakura stopped them.

It was a painful memory that he had wanted to forget. The tears streaming down her face, as she asked the request he vowed to accomplish.

'_Please…please bring Sasuke-kun back'_

His lungs felt as if they were constricted by a tight knot. His breath labored, eyes turning red and tears threaten to fall. His arms crossed around him grabbing his sides as he was struggling to breath.

It's just…too much. The grief he felt that day as her longtime crush cried her eyes out and, unfortunately, those tears weren't for him. He hated seeing her crying. But when the more he thought about it, the more confused he was to what he was feeling. Grief or jealousy.

The memory fast forwarded to the time he had held Sasuke to a wall by the neck.  
><em>'You, who were alone from the start… What do you understand about me? HUH?'<em>  
><em>'It's because the bonds I had that I suffer so much. People like you who don't understand about losing people precious better shut up!'<em>

Suddenly he felt depression overcome him. Yeah, he doesn't understand shit about him. That's why he won't listen, that's why he couldn't save him.

By then, Naruto had forgotten how to breath. And darkness overcome him.

Hiro grinned maniacally as he went back to the door leading to the cage. He done it. He had weaken Naruto's mind. Now all that's left was to release the seal.

He dipped his hand once more and channeled his chakra to the seal again. This time, it connected resulting in a humming sound and the seal shining blue.

'_Yes…the Kyuubi's under my control'_.

****

Sakura doesn't know just what happened. Before, Naruto's anguish scream filled the arena. After that, it subsided and she could see him clutching his sides and shaking as if his body was covered in ice.

What worried her the most, was that after that Naruto's breath became labored and tears going out from his eyes. His eyes itself were no more the cerulean orbs she knew. They were blood red slitted ones. When she saw that, she stood up and tried to jump down only to be held in her place by Ino, Neji and Lee.

"_Sakura,what are you doing?"_,Ino asked worriedly. Sakura's eyes narrowed,_"What does it looked like I'm doing? I'm trying to help him!"_,she said, almost screaming at her friend.

"_You can't! If you do then Naruto would be disqualified for receiving help from you"_,Neji added.

"_To hell with disqualified! He's going into a nervous breakdown and that sick bastard could destroy his mind any minute!"_,she protested angrily.

Just then, Naruto's chakra fluctuated and Sakura could see red aura coming out of his body. His whisker marks thickening while his canines and nails growing longer. The air around him vibrated as Kyuubi's chakra entered his chakra system. His eyes, now devoid of any ocean blue she recognized, was replaced by a slitted blood-red pair of eyes.

'_No. Not now'_,the pink haired girl thought.

It's not even ending just there. Slowly, boiling chakra came out of his body and formed a transparent cloak around him in the shape of a one-tailed fox.

So then and there, Naruto let out a roar of pain as the Kyuubi's cloak enveloped him.

End of Chapter 13

****

**So there you have it. Another painstakingly-made chapter thought through the late nights.**

**I actually gotta focus on learning instead of actually writing this chapter. Damn, I'm good.**

**Oh, and I'm currently writing another fic. It's another NaruSaku and while it may not be as good as this, please read! It's also the reason I'm going to update kinda late for this story.**


	15. Chapter 14

**Now for the climax of Naruto's fight! Frankly, I think my writing doesn't fit Naruto at all. Since here, Naruto's fight was not at an extreme physical level; which was his forte; which made him look weak. If any of you think like this, please know that I'm sorry.**

**xoxoxo**

**Chapter 14**

**Stand and Fight, Naruto!**

As the ominous chakra leaked from Naruto's body, the Kages were as of now standing up from their seats. Tsunade, with a look of pure shock and horror plastered on her face, looked down to the arena. _"Why the hell would the Kyuubi come out now all of times?"_,she asked intently to no one in particular.

The other Kages were having their comments of their own in their minds. For Raikage, he thought this would be trouble and he offered himself to stop Naruto. Clearly, that offer was immediately shot down by Tsunade. As she was worried that Raikage would only make things worse. The Tsuchikage, Onoki, thought this would be a good time to cut Konoha's military power severely as he thought of someway to pulverize the raging one-tailed Kyuubi. But all of his strategy lead down to him having to fight with Tsunade and that he could not do. Not with his aching back.

The Kazekage, Gaara, on the other hand, was more concerned to how would they calm Naruto down. _"We can't. Not without getting injured"_,Tsunade said to him. He closed his eyes in frustration. He can't control his sand to stop Naruto without hurting him, and that is not a strategy with a 100% guarantee of success, either.

Tsunade had a better idea,_ "ANBU! Place a barrier seal around the arena! We have to shield the villagers!"_,she ordered.

The ANBU behind her complied and signaled four of his companion to follow him.

"_How should we help Naruto on this?"_,Gaara asked, a stoic look on his face. Tsunade shook her head.

"_I told you, we can't. What we could do is to trust on his will and shield the villagers from any possbile harm. We have to trust him, but I can't guarantee that Kyuubi would listen to him"_,she said depressingly.

"_Then what about that strange-looking fighter from the earlier fight? Can't he do anything to stop the brat?"_,Raikage questioned.

"_Spiderman's chakra must be on his lowest state. Going in there could be suicide for him"_,she explained. She is, obviously, oblivious to the fact Madam Web had sealed Raibi inside him. Therefore she can't risk him.

"_I can get down there and kill him to stop his bijuu"_,Tsuchikage suggested mockingly.  
><em>"You try that Onoki then I swear you won't have a back to be aching"<em>,she countered angrily.

Sure, Iwa and Konoha were not at good terms, thanks to the Third Great War. And their Kages were the proof of that.

A low humming sound broke their glaring contest. The ANBU had finished placing their barrier seal and now they could see a wall of transparent blue before them. _'Now it's all up to you, Naruto'_.

****

Sakura was going to try and dive into the arena again until a transparent blue wall alerted her. She knew it was a barrier, but that won't stop her.

Unfortunately, Ino assured her that she's the one that's going to do it for her,_ "Let me go, Ino!"_.

"_Sakura, you do know what this means, right? This means Tsunade-sama is preventing you from trying to kill yourself!"_,Ino said.

"_I don't care! Naruto's down there and he's losing control! We have to help him!"_,she protested.  
><em>"Losing control over what?"<em>,Neji suddenly asked.

Sakura gasped as she was so close to giving out Naruto's secret. She cursed herself for forgetting that and she turned to Neji,_ "He's losing his temper. And that's bad"_,she half-lied.

"_Yes, I can see that. But we'll have to trust Naruto to stop his raging chakra himself "_,Neji said. And as much as she hated the fact, she agreed with Neji. But by Kami she hoped this won't last long.

****

"_What do you MEAN I can't go down there?"_,Spiderman yelled at the ANBU stationed near him to maintain the barrier.

"_Direct orders from Lady Hokage. She told us to prevent any civilian from having any injury from the Kyuubi's chakra"_,the ANBU with the boar mask said. He doesn't know about the person he's talking to right now, but since he's considered a civilian so he regarded him as one.

"_Except that I'm not a civilian! I can stop him!"_.

"_I can't let you go and kill yourself just like that. Otherwise it's Tsunade-sama's fist to my face"_,the ANBU said while shuddering to think what might happen if he did let the masked contestant go.

Spiderman scowled under his mask,_"Then I just have to fight my way through!"_,that said, he charged his fist with lightning and rushed at the wall, ignoring the ANBU's warning. Suddenly, when he's two steps from the barrier, he froze in place. His body trembled as he tried to regain control over his body. He looked down at his feet to find his shadow connected to another one.

As he traced the interlocking shadow, his sight landed on a man with hair tied up in a high-ponytail and a scar on his face. He was wearing a fishnet shirt which was topped with a jagged urban jacket. He held his hand in a rat seal.

"_Troublesome. And here I thought I won't be needed"_,the man muttered.  
><em>"Who are you?"<em>,Spiderman asked.

"_Shikaku-sama! Thank you for your assistance"_, The ANBU piped up.

"_No thanks needed. I'm just saving my ass from Godaime's wrath"_,he replied.

'**Nara Shikaku. Of all people to show up it's the laziest bum in Konoha and he's trying to stop us'**,Raibi scowled from inside his cage.

'Who's he?',Spiderman asked.

'**A member of the shinobi Council and also one of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. Plus, he's the Nara clan leader'**

'So in other words, he's on the level Hanabi wanted to be on?'

'**Technically. If you count out his lazy ass'**

Spiderman glanced at Shikaku, and finally asked,_ "Do you know what'll happen if Naruto is left just like that?"_.  
><em>"No idea. I DO know that it's better if you stay put here unless you want to cause more ruckus and add to the problem"<em>,the clan leader said.

Spiderman seemed to calm down as he cancelled his _Raiken_. So Shikaku released his _Kageshibari no Jutsu_ and thus his hold ln Spiderman's body.

'_It's going to be a drag if I have to hold him down too long, anyways'_,he thought lazily.

Spiderman looked down at the arena once again. Hoping Naruto still have some consciousness left to control the Kyuubi's chakra.

****

With burning chakra enveloping him, Naruto; or more appropriately his physical self; growled in annoyance. Red eyes shifted left and right glaring at the villager's podium.

Of course, this isn't Naruto. And no, it's not the Kyuubi's will either. Though the chakra was his, the one controlling him is Hiro. Who, as of now, was still holding his seal in the same form.  
>Now, having control over Naruto, Hiro drove the blonde's Kyuubified body to trash around the arena. Clawing everything in sight with his chakra claws.<p>

He even took one chance on jumping and tried to break the barrier seal shielding the villagers. But the ANBU's seal are not to be counted on for nothing, as it held it's own against the red claws.

Naruto shot out his chakra arm to grab the walls and swung up to try another claw attack.

That is, until he saw Sakura gazing him in a mix of fear and worry.

He pulled away in the last seconds before clawing the barrier and dropped back to the ground, much to Hiro's disappointment.

Down and deeper into Naruto's subconscious, his mental form is struggling to keep awake. He himself is currently limping his way towards the door leading back to the cage. Just as he was 10 feet from the door, Hiro came out through the door. A smirk on his face.

'_What…what did you do to the seal?'_,Naruto breathed out.

'_I messed a little with it. As of now, your body is in one-tailed condition. And it's only thanks to your will that it stayed that way'_,Hiro said.

'_You…you don't know what the fox is capable of doing if he's in contro—'_

'_Oh, but he's not in control. I am. And as such, I control your mind and body'_,Hiro cut him off.

Naruto winced as the leftover mental injury came back. _'What are you planning to do?'_

'_I'm planning to make your life as well as your friends a living hell!'_,he stated while grinning like a maniac.

'_What do you have against me? I've never do anything to you!'_,Naruto questioned.

The Yamanaka member laughed in return,_ "Fool. I'm not doing this for the sake of revenge. Unlike your pitiful friend, that Uchiha. I'm doing this just for the heck of it!'_,he said.

Mustering his strength, he jumped forward and tried to punch Hiro only to be stopped by another lung-constricting pain. He looked up to see Hiro holding another memory. The one he was in the hospital after failing to save Sasuke. Sakura was there.

The memory replayed itself. Starting from Sakura forcing her fake smile to prevent him from feeling guilty. Which only serve to make him feel worse. An unimaginable guilt resurfaced in Naruto's mind.

As if noticing this, Hiro pulled out a kunai out from his utility bag and threw it to the ground in front of him, _'If you want, you can kill yourself using that. It'll save my chakra from destroying your mind, as well'_,Hiro suggested coldly.

Naruto stared at the kunai in front of him, options weighing his limbs. The guilty part of him told him to grab that kunai and lodge it into his neck.

Oh, how much he wanted to kill himself out of guilt. So he picked up the kunai and considered his options once more. Guilt overcame him.

Just as he was about to stab himself, he heard the memory still playing in his mind.

'_I never go back on my words. That's my ninja way'_,he heard himself talking in that memory.  
>His hand froze in place, leaving a confused Hiro staring at him. The memory was still playing.<p>

'_Next time I'll come with you'_,Sakura said in his memory.

Naruto lowered the kunai. He remembered now. He can't die here, not when he haven't finish his vow to her.

He promised, and he never went back on his words.

Using all his strength, his grip on the mental kunai tightened until it dispersed. Gone like the thin air.

Bewildered, Hiro didn't think Naruto still has enough willpower to try and take over his mind back. _'I'm surprised. To think you still have the will to live'_,he said

'_Of course. Because I can't die yet. I still have to bring him back! And I won't lose to you!"_,Naruto stated with determination.  
>Hiro's eyes twitched as he prepared some handsigns.<p>

'_Unfortunate. I was hoping to able to save my chakra for later, but it seemed I have to destroy your mind myself!'_,he stood there lining up his handseals.

Rabbit, Ram, Rat. As he finished his handseals, he pointed his finger towards the top point of the swirling vortex of memories. _'Die!'_,he let out as he shot out a streaming line of chakra. Obviously, that line was directed for Naruto's mind.

It's just that… the line never reached it's destination as it was blocked by a thick cloud of red chakra.

Stunned beyond any comprehension, Naruto eyes widened even more as the entire area was turning scarlet-red. He froze as he felt the ominous killing intent, even though it was not directed at him.

The red, slitted eyes glaring at Hiro proofed that.

'_**Foolish mortal. Did you think you could control me? Well, I suppose I can teach you a thing or two about me…'**_,an unearthly growl emanated from the direction the eyes.

Suddenly, a blast of spiritual pressure drove Hiro down to his knees. Trembling as if he's in an iceberg in south pole, he couldn't even move his body. _**'First, no one controls ME!'**_,the Kyuubi stated.

Naruto wondered as how and why did Kyuubi became so pissed. As far as he's concerned, the nine-tailed fox never give any thought of anything bad happening to him. Aside from injuries which healed automatically thanks to his chakra.

But then, why does it seemed… like he's fighting to protect him?

'_**And last…'**_,Kyuubi's voice brought Naruto out of his thought. Hiro was, as of now, literally being crushed by Kyuubi's pressure.

'_**I'm the only one having to mess with the gaki's mind as he is my damned jailor!'**_,the Kyuubi roared, and with it, Hiro's mental existence withered away. Going back to his physical body.

Kyuubi turned his back as he began to also wither away, going back to his cage.

'_Hey teme! Wait!'_,Naruto called out.

The Kyuubi halted his teleportation as he heard Naruto called,_**'What do you want, brat?'**_,he growled under his breath.

'_Why? Why did you help me?'_,Naruto asked unbelievingly.  
><em><strong>'Don't get the wrong idea. I'm just doing myself a favor as the earlier mortal was foolishly trying to control me'<strong>_,the fox scoffed.

'_That's not even enough reason to do what you did before. You do know that you're exposing yourself in front of him'_,Naruto argued.

'_**That kid knew from the start that I'm here, anyways. If he didn't, he'd just leave the seal alone. You're a real idiot, you know brat?'**_,Kyuubi said.

A tick of nerve showed on Naruto's temple.  
><em><strong>'After all… I can feel him'<strong>_,the Kyuubi suddenly muttered.

'_Him?'_

'_**None of your concern'**_

Naruto decided not to push the subject further. If he did, then his mental consciousness wouldn't be able to stand against another _ki -_blast from the Kyuubi.

…

'_Well, thank you anyhow'_,Naruto finally said.

The glanced back at Naruto. His eyes now not bringing anymore flash of anger. He'd never thought the boy would grow up to come to respect him. He's quite interested in how the blonde going to thank him again in the near future if he help his jailor again.

His playful side thought of Naruto doing an entertainment show with himself juggling a few Rasengans.

He decided not to show his interest in front of his _jinchuuriki_,_** 'None needed, brat. Now get out of my sight'**_,the Kyuubi growled out as he began dispersing. Teleporting back to his cage.

****

Out in the physical world, Naruto's one-tailed body stopped moving as his consciousness came back. While Hiro's came back but having a more extreme feedback. He flew back screaming and clutching his head in agony. Of course, that's the effect from Kyuubi's mental force.

Naruto realized he's still in a tailed state and quickly stood on two feet to regain control.  
>He took a deep breath and cancelled his <em>bijuu<em> cloak. He looked around to see the villagers silent and shielded by what seemed to be a wall of transparent blue chakra.

Genma was standing with his kunai in hand, senbon already forgotten.

He saw Sakura looking at him with her deep emerald eyes filled with concern.

The blonde _jinchuuriki_ was still oblivious with what happened, so he asked Genma,_ "Hey, is the fight over?"_.

Genma sighed and put his kunai back to his jounin vest pocket, _"Seems that way. And you won"_, he lazily said with a smile on his face. Already knowing the effect of telling Naruto of his victory.

Naruto jumped high and fisted the air as he shouted out,_ "YATTAAAA! I WON!"_.

The crowd sweatdropped as several of them chuckled at the blonde-knucklehead's antics.

They all applaused for Naruto's victory. It's the first Chuunin Exam all over again, the blonde thought.

Hiro, struggling to move, barely able to speak up. _"You… know that they're not… cheering for you. They must be really afraid at your display of rage"_,he said.

Naruto turned as he noticed Hiro's voice,_ "Even if they are, I have friends that accept me as who I am. So it's pretty much okay"_,he shrugged as he began his walk to the waiting level.

Hiro noticed that Naruto's back was turned, so he flunged a kunai at Naruto. Who was oblivious at the nearing projectile. Sakura gasped as she tried to warn Naruto, but she found her voice wouldn't make it out of her throat in time. She began to move.

But as the kunai neared Naruto's head, a fountain of sand erupted from exactly below the kunai in surprising speed. Preventing the kunai from hitting it's target. Naruto, hearing the eruption sound, turned back to found a wall of sand. And he knew what that meant as there's only one guy he knew that could control sand.

"_Gaara!"_

Upstairs, Gaara's palm extended as he controlled the sand from the ground to shield Naruto from Hiro's cowardly thrown kunai.

Tsunade huffed as she saw that Naruto was safe. _"It seemed that you were able to help Naruto, after all"_,she said.

Gaara nodded stoically, _"Good to hear"_.

A frustrated Hiro used his last resort, his cruelty,_ "People of Konoha. Did you realize what you just saw before?"_,he yelled in questioning.

The villagers caught by surprise by Hiro's question began to murmur in puzzlement.

"_I'll tell what that was! That was—"_,he was stopped short as he was stomped on from the high air by a figure in red, blue and black.

'Figures',Spiderman thought.

'And I said that with great power comes great responsibility. Stomping a weakened guy with full-strength is not following that speech in any way'.

End of Chapter 14

****

**Yeah, so he won mentally, Naruto did. And Kyuubi's a bit too OOC it's…scary.**

**And the fact that an interaction between Naruto and the Kyuubi would include Naruto thanking the fox doesn't help any bit.**

**To be honest… I drove the story on the wrong side of the road.**


	16. Chapter 15

**Well, damn it seems that I can find a loophole in my god-forsaken test. I'm pretty sure that this one is worth reading even though it's a desperate one.**

**So now that I finished the two semi-finals, it's time for the final match.**

**Wait a minute…**

**Doesn't that mean it's a Spiderman vs Naruto fight?  
>LOL. I forgot about that. Thankfully, I have an idea in mind.<strong>

**Disc,: I do not own Naruto or Spiderman whatsoever. Heck, I'm grateful enough I have some anime in my collection.**

****

**Chapter 15**

**Final Match!  
>Spiderman vs Uzumaki Naruto<strong>

Naruto looked back in a state of horror. Hiro was going to tell all Konoha about his secret! But wait a minute… hasn't the villagers already knew about Kyuubi. Why would he be worried?

That's when it hit him. His friends! The Rookie 9 and Team Gai had never knew about him and the Kyuubi. Outside from Sakura, whom he suspected already knew.

He made a move, only to stop when he saw Hiro being stomped by a suddenly appearing Spiderman. He was grateful he did, as he'd hate to know what he'll do to stop Hiro.

As Spiderman landed, four ANBU encircled him. The one with a boar mask said,_ "Let's take him away"_. Spiderman instantly broke into cold sweat.  
><em>"Hey, hey, guys. I'm sorry for the aggressive nature I used but it was an accident! I landed five feet away from where I targeted!"<em>,Spiderman frantically said in defense.

Now it's the ANBU's turn to drop a sweat,_ "It's not you we're talking about. It's the boy under you"_.

Spiderman looked down. As he stepped aside, he asked the ANBU as to why they would take the Yamanaka clan member away. _"Orders from Lady Hokage"_,another one with a weasel mask said.

That's enough reason for Spiderman to oblige to the order, as he didn't want to mess with another high-ranking officer.

One round with Nick Fury is already more than enough.

****

Upstairs, Tsunade frowned as the ANBU took Hiro away. She never thought that someone would freely say something like that in the open. The villager's, she could cope with. Heck, it's that very reason most of the villagers hated him.

The problem was Naruto's friends. Like the rookie 9, team Gai, Konohamaru's squad. They haven't known Naruto for what's inside him. They're friends, sure. And she's grateful for that. But she was afraid that bond would break once they knew about the Kyuubi.

That's why the instant Spiderman knocked out Hiro, she ordered her ANBU to capture him. _"For violating orders from the Sandaime Hokage!"_,she had said.

Which was the truth, since the Third Hokage's rule was clear. That nobody outside of the adults would speak of Naruto and the Kyuubi's relations. The blonde Hokage never counted that it would be one of the younglings that would know about this firsthand.

For now, she would put the Yamanaka member into jail. Later though, she mentally noted that she would speak with Inoichi about this.

****

Sakura breathed out a sigh of relief as she saw Spiderman prevented Hiro from speaking about the secret Naruto had held for so long. For one second, she was afraid her friends would know about THAT.

The breath of relief didn't escape Neji's eyes and he made a mental note that he'll ask Sakura what he had in thought later.

For now, they're just going to enjoy the show.

Ino seemed to realize something as she turned her head to Sakura, _"Hey, isn't the next fight Naruto against Spiderman?"_.

"_Oh , yeah! I've completely forgotten about that! I wonder what would the fight be like…"_,Sakura said. She too had a late realization about the next fight.

"_I won't expect much of a show if I were you"_,Neji suddenly said.

"_Why would you say something so depressing that it quenches any flames of youth the girls had?"_,Lee said adding his personal belief in.  
>Until he realized that Neji had his Byakugan activated.<p>

"_Both of their chakra are massively depleted, save for some proportional amounts that they could use for two or three jutsus. But that'll leave them collapsing due to chakra exhaustion"_,the white-eyed boy explained.

"_So what? They'll have to use taijutsu on one another?"_,Ino asked.

"_Then Spiderman will have the upper hand, seeing that from his previous fight he could hold Hanabi with taijutsu alone for a longer time than Naruto did when he fought Hiro. Right, Neji?"_,Sakura said hypothetically as she finished Neji's line for him.  
>He nodded in reply.<p>

"_But, knowing Naruto, he probably have something up his sleeve"_,the Hyuuga boy said, at the end cheering the gang up again.

Sakura smiled at the thought. Well, what Neji said is not without reason. Even in the tightest pinch, Naruto somehow always come out victorious. Thus, granting him the title 'The Most Surprising Ninja of Konoha'.

'_I just hope he didn't overdo that talent of his. I don't want him to, say, use an Oiroke no Jutsu _(Sexy Jutsu) _to defeat Spiderman'_,Sakura thought as she pictured Naruto doing his perverted _henge_ in front of everyone. And Spiderman blasting a fountain of blood from his nose, nonetheless.

'_**Yep, that would be very embarrassing indeed"**_,Inner Sakura added.

****

"_How you doing?"_,the weabhead asked.

As the ANBU cleared the area, Spiderman made his way to the center of the arena to meet up with Naruto. And, of course, to continue with the tournament.

"_I've been better, but still enough to beat you"_,Naruto replied grinning.

"_You sure about that? I'm still up for a round with you and I won't hold back, you know"_

"_Hah! For you information, a guy that's gonna be Hokage is not going to give up that easily!"_,the whisker-marked boy replied with confidence.

Spiderman chuckled. Still, he's concerned about the earlier incident where the blonde went Kyuubi. He's not certain whether or not Naruto's mind was already stable or not.

'**Don't worry about it. The Kyuubi's as still as ever, oddly enough. Something must've happen when the mental fight commenced'**,Raibi said reassuringly.  
>'My experience told me that you can't tame a wild animal with a simple ruffle to the head',Spiderman reminisced.<p>

_Somewhere else…_

In a room underground, one with silver platings on the walls in the shape of X, a training session was held. A freezing blast of howling hail wind slams with force to a training dummy. The training dummy strangely resembles that of an average thug with a crowbar.

The dummy freezed instantly due to the subzero temperature blast.

On the high wall, there's a control room with a glass wall. A man with a jagged hair with a beard that fused with hair from the sides wearing a black suit and an orange X-shaped stipe on the chest area was overviewing the training.

Suddenly, he sneezed. So loud that he accidentally pushed out three elongated iron claws from his right knuckles and hit the control panel.

The training dummy downstairs then transformed into a man with wearing a black suit and a one-line red shades. The training dummy's right hand spun a switch on the right side of the glasses slightly and shot out a red laser beam from his glasses.

The Iceman formed a wide shield of ice in defense from the red laser.

As the dummy collapsed, the youth turned to his face to the control room with a tick of nerve on his head, "What the hell, Logan! That's a level 9 training level! Are you out of your mind?",the boy yelled.

Logan, codenamed Wolverine, wiped the snot from his nose carefully not to scratch his own face, "Sorry, bub. I guess I'm coming down with a flu".

He turned to the ransacked control panel his adamantium claws just stabbed through and sweatdropped.

"I think the Professor needs to buy another one of this damn DJ machine…"

_Back to Konoha…_

'Well, even so, I guess you're right Raibi. I just hope nothing bad happen anymore',he thought.

Genma walked to the center once again after a moment. Everyone might wonder how did he kept his senbon on his mouth when the Kyuubified Naruto went wild.

Well, some mystery were better kept undiscovered.

'_I wonder who's going to give up first'_,he thought. In his logic, one of them were supposed to forfeit the instant the match begin. Both of them are low on chakra, not the state you would find a shinobi to fight.

He sighed, _"So, you guys ready?"_, he asked them both.

Both nodded while keeping their eyes on each other.

"_All right. Begin!"_,he signaled.

"_I forfeit"_,Spiderman instantly said. Leaving a stunned crowd and a shocked Naruto.

Sakura's jaw nearly dropped to the ground as the declaration of Spiderman's forfeit was made, _"Wha…what did he said?"_,she said.

"_Trust me, Sakura. I don't believe this just as much as you don't"_,Ino said.  
>Neji's eyes widen in shock as Lee's eyes burst into flames, <em>"UWOOOOOO! I don't know why. But Spiderman's flames of youth burned even brighter than before when he declared his unyouthful retreat!"<em>.

"_It would appear so. He is worried about Naruto's condition. He's a good teammate, Sakura"_,Neji said.  
><em>"But Naruto wanted to fight Spiderman, exhausted or not! He can't just forfeit like that. If so, then why would he had a go for this exam?"<em>,Sakura said. In truth, she was grateful that Spiderman forfeited. Naruto's condition is as bad as it is mentally.

Though, she also understood Naruto's feelings. Spiderman is his friend, which would seem very odd since he was closer to Naruto is than his other friends were even though they only met for a short time. But even so Sakura knew…

Their friendship is just like what Naruto had with Sasuke.

And back then, Naruto wanted to fight with Sasuke, too.

She sighed, it's an unavoidable fact that team 7 was designed to look on familiar _déjà vu_s one after another.

"_What the hell?"_,Naruto yelled in confusion.

"_Did I hear that right? You're forfeiting?"_

"_You heard it loud and clear, Naruto. I hereby forfeiting from the final match. And therefore, you're the winner. That is, if the referee here accept that"_,Spiderman said gesturing to Genma. Who shrugged in comply.

"_Well, that's up to the fighters, I guess. But are you sure about this?"_,Genma asked, unsure about it himself.

Spiderman nodded. Which seemed to anger Naruto even further, _"You can't do that! I don't want to win this way! I want to win through a fight!"_,he growled.

"_It's not the matter of what you want or what you don't want, Naruto. It's a matter of what you need and what you don't need… And right now the only thing you need is some rest whilst the last thing you needed was another round with me"_,Spiderman explained. He himself didn't want to force this on Naruto since he was eager to fight the blonde himself.

"_Well, belay that! The only way I want to win is by fighting you and no way else!"_,Naruto argued.

Spiderman pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. 'Naruto's not the kind to listen to people's advice, huh?',he thought.

He turned his back to Naruto and headed to the medic ward, deciding that he'd better go out himself if he wanted to spare his energy rather than going on a mouth duel against Naruto.

Naruto's nerve ticked on his head as he saw Spiderman walked to the medic ward.

"_Oh, so now you're running with your tails between your legs, huh Spiderman! That's pathetic. I've never thought you're a coward"_,Naruto taunted.

Spiderman remained impassive as he kept walking to his destination.

"_Hey, who knows? Maybe the reason your uncle was killed was because of that cowardice of yours!"_,he taunted again. This time, laying it much more thicker with an added pressure.

Spiderman stopped in his tracks when he heard Naruto mentioned his uncle. He turned to face Naruto, only to reveal that his mask has turned parcially black with half of his mask covered in his symbiotic suit.

"_Care to repeat that?"_,he asked with such coldness that it froze everyone in their places.

But not Naruto. Never him. Since it's only a _jinchuuriki_ that can understand another _jinchuuriki_. And Naruto was sure that Spiderman got what he meant.

"_You heard me! You damn coward! Maybe the reason that you didn't stop the thug from escaping is because you're afraid to!"_,he yelled, no longer in a taunting manner, but in an angry tone.

Spiderman's glare almost burn through his darkened mask.

To be frank, he never expected Naruto to use this kind of approach. He knew that Naruto isn't that kind of person. But even so, his uncle is a touchy subject for him.

What remained of his chakra burned through as the symbiote substance began to envelop him again.

"_But…"_

The takeover paused as Spiderman heard Naruto spoke up again.

"_I can't say that I haven't done any better"_,Naruto said. Eyes now looking down.

Spiderman stopped his transformation in confusion. 'What is Naruto implying on?',he thought.

In Naruto's head, the memory of when Sasuke fought him on the hospital roof replayed. _'That's the first time he looked troubled'_. The memory sped up to when he was about to leave to search for Sasuke and his promise to Sakura. _'It hurts, Hiro showed me before'_. And then it arrived to him clashing his Kyuubified Rasengan to Sasuke's Joutai Chidori.

He lifted his head, which seem to be getting heavier when he did it. _"I've let Sasuke leave without able to give it my all to stop him. And because of that, now he's in danger"_,he said.

'Sasuke?',Spiderman thought.

"_That's why…"_

Spiderman's symbiote suit already completed it's cancellation.

"_That's why I have to fight you! If I can't even beat you, than I can't save Sasuke as I am now!"_,Naruto yelled.

Spiderman's eyes widen, as well as Sakura's upstairs in the audience level.  
><p>

Sakura was first taken aback by Naruto's taunts. She hadn't expect him to use Spiderman's personal memory. Whoever his uncle was, she made a mental note that she would never discuss it without his permission.

But, she was shocked as she heard his last statement.

Yeah, she hadn't expect him to be that serious of his promise to bring back Sasuke. She also hadn't account that Naruto would put everything in behind just to try and save him again.

He'd do that to keep his promise to her.  
>Oh, great. She's ready to spill some tears out again.<p>

"_Naruto is… really passionate on his words, huh Sakura?"_,Neji asked.

The pink-haired medic covered her eyes to hide her tears. Useless, it's already streaming down her cheeks.

"_He is. That idiot"_,she said while smiling a bit.

Spiderman sighed as Naruto finished his last sentence. He hadn't expected for his forfeit act to end this quickly.

'Well, guess I have no choice',he thought grinning to himself.

"_So you want to have a round with me, Naruto?"_,Spiderman asked.

"_Yeah! I'll beat you as proof that I can save him!"_,Naruto said bringing his fist to his front.

"_Well, I don't know who's this Sasuke is. But, it seems you had your mind set to get him back from wherever he currently is…"_,Spiderman said. He looked up to meet Naruto's gaze.

"_Alright. Let's see what you got Naruto!"_,Spiderman called out.

Naruto grinned and called one clone to make a Rasengan.

Spiderman called out his own clone and use his own _jutsu_. He was trying to make a Rasengan, too.

"_You've perfected it?"_,Naruto asked in surprise.  
><em>"Nah, I was just trying to take a shot at it"<em>,Spiderman said.

Naruto laughed, _"That's just like you"_,he said as his clone began to spin and mold a Rasengan. Wind spun around him as the Rasegan finished it's form.

"_The same could be said for you, Naruto"_,Spiderman said as his clone began to spin the chakra he had pulled out and spun it in such way that it began to form a spinning orb.

"_You sure you want to this?"_,the Avenger member asked once more. Though, he already know his opponent's answer.

Naruto laughed as he answered back, _"I don't go back on my words. That's my nindo!"_.

Spiderman smiled. The orb on his hand began shooting out lightning bolts just like before. But unlike before, he stood still not budging from his place.

'**I see. So you finally accepted my chakra. Took you long enough'**,Raibi chuckled behind his cage.

As Spiderman finished his own orb,he held it beside him. It looked like Rasengan, but with the exception of it having several lightning bolts spinning around.

"_That's cooler than anything I've ever seen!"_,Naruto exclaimed.  
><em>"Heh, then you better take your Rasengan up a notch, too. I wouldn't want to waste my chakra on this jutsu without being able to see it's full extent"<em>,Spiderman said.

"_Yeah, yeah"_,Naruto said. He closed his eyes as he searched his mind for something.

'_Kyuubi, you there?'_

'_**What is it this time, gaki?'**_,the Kyuubi said back, annoyed.

'_Well, I guess I need to borrow your chakra a bit to upgrade my Rasengan a little'_,Naruto said.

'_**And why should I help you. Just because I helped you before doesn't mean I should help you now'**_,Kyuubi growled.

'_You're a damn annoying furball, you know that? Spiderman's completed his own Rasengan with Raibi's chakra. So he wanted me to "take it up a notch" '_,Naruto reasoned.

Kyuubi's eyes widen, _**'Raibi… he's here, huh? Tch, alright brat. I'll lend you some chakra'**_,he said.

'_Alright! Thanks again, Kyuubi! I don't know why, but you seemed a hell lot friendlier than ever'_,Naruto said. Surprised he even got the extra chakra.

'_**Shut up. It's my whim to what I want to do. Now go away'**_

Naruto opened his eyes and red chakra streamed out his body and filled the Rasengan he's holding. It then expanded a few good inches and with red aura enveloping it. And in the inner part of the orb, a more concentrated chakra flare was seen.

"_Nice! Now that's an upgrade"_,Spiderman exclaimed.

"_So, you're ready, Spiderman?"_,Naruto yelled as he dashed forward.

"_As I always am, Naruto!"_,Spiderman said as he dashed forward, too.

The force of their respective Rasengan ripped the ground as they ran at each other. One with lightning bolts and the other with red chakra.

At their point, they jumped and lunged at each other with their _jutsu_. Calling out the names of their original spinning orbs.

"_Rasraichi_ (Spiral of Thousand Lightning)_!"_,Spiderman yelled.

"_Tatsumaki Rasengan_ (Dragon Twister Rasengan)_!"_,Naruto yelled.

Their _jutsu_ clashed.

End of Chapter 15

**Now THAT's some climax! Yeah, I know. Terrible jutsu creativity. I mean heck, that jutsu doesn't seem to fit in the Naruto universe.**

**But, I have my excuse. It IS fanfiction, hahaha.**

**Oh, and sorry about the extremely late update. I had a graduation exam and it's lousy as hell with a bunch of Physics and Maths. This is actually Spiderman's forte, so I really hoped I'm in his shoes now.**

_**Jutsu Description**_

_Rasraichi_ (Spiral of Thousand Lightning)- Yeah I know, bad name. I took it from the mix of Rasengan, Raikiri, and Chidori. Once you get what I mean, though, you'll know what I mean.  
>Spiderman's jutsu, whereas he fused Raibi's chakra in his Rasengan. Originally a failed attempt to create Rasengan as Raibi's chakra automatically enters the Rasengan and, if the user does not accept the chakra, would explode.<p>

_Tatsumaki Rasengan_ (Dragon Twister Rasengan)- To those that knows, this jutsu really exists in Naruto Shippuden The Movie 2: Bonds. Though, the real translation was "Dragon Fold Rasengan" or maybe "Dragon Spin Rasengan". I just thought that the term "Dragon Twister" sounds catchy.  
>Naruto's jutsu whereas he fused Rasengan with Kyuubi's chakra. But the difference is, while the Kyuubified Rasengan form was an orb enveloped with the <em>Bijuu<em> Cloak's chakra, _Tatsumaki Rasengan_ has the orb enveloped in red aura and a concentrated chakra flare in the inner part of the orb. Probably useable as a mini atomic bomb if exploded in a great quantity of chakra.


	17. Chapter 16

**Darn exams really took a hell lot of time to finish. And I think I'm going to have some migraines after this.**

**And let's just say I'm grateful that I had some time to continue this fic. Thanks for supporting me readers!**

**Disc,: I never had a thought of owning Naruto. That'd be cool, but illegal nonetheless.**

**Chapter 16**

**At the End of the Battle**

The clash of Spiderman's and Naruto's finishing Rasengans brought a deafening explosion to the middle of the arena. It's so forceful that it blew Genma away. So powerful that it made cracks along the ground and the walls.

Heck, it's the same effect just like Tsunade's angry mammoth fist _jutsu_. And right now, said Hokage is having a hard time discerning the scene before her. It's bad enough that the blinding light of the clash took her vision out for some seconds.

When she opened her eyes, she saw both fighters lying on the ground, exhausted and powerless. _"I guess we have an agreement on who's the winner of this bout, right Tsunade?"_,Tsuchikage asked.

The blonde Hokage closed her eyes in contemplation, _"Yes, I guess we do"_,she said.

Spiderman lied on the ground breathing heavily due to the chakra exhaustion he had. Well, that last attack took more from him than he thought. And the fact that both of them relied on their _bijuu_'s chakra made them exhausted as ever.

Naruto tried to stand up, but find his legs immovable.

"_Hah… hah… hahaha. Now that's what I call a cool ending"_,Naruto suddenly said.

Spiderman grunted as he tried to sit and look at Naruto's grinning face, _"I guess we took it too far, huh?"_,he said.

"_Aah who cares? That last clash was a proof that I can still beat your ass anyway"_,Naruto said.  
><em>"Oh really? You looked pretty darned tired yourself"<em>,Spiderman playfully said while grinning.  
><em>"Are you any different?"<em>,Naruto asked.  
>Both of them exhaled a long breath out of exhaustion. Unable to continue any longer.<p>

…

"_Thank you, Naruto"_,Spiderman voiced out.

"_Huh?"_

"_You know, for before"_

"_I believe I deserved a hell lot of beating rather than a 'thank you' in regard of me bringing up your uncle"_,Naruto said, chuckling nervously while a thought passed his mind.  
><em>"You didn't… mean that 'thanks' in a sarcastic way, did you?"<em>,he asked.

"_No, I really meant it. Fortunately for you"_,the webhead replied while laughing lightly.  
><em>"I won't be so lucky anymore after this. Sakura-chan's going to kill me…"<em>,the blonde said, anime-tears streaming down his cheeks. A full-blown laughter was his reply. Clearly, Spiderman was enjoying his impending misery.

Genma walked to both of them with several medics in tow, who brought two stretchers with them. When they finished lifting both fighters to said stretchers, they headed back to the medical ward.The villagers applaused and cheered, breaking the silence as they were carried away.

'_Tsunade-sama might have a word or two on this… After all, this match ended a tie'_,the senbon-biting Special Jounin thought.

Upstairs, an eager Sakura had a hard time keeping herself on her seat. She felt she needed to go down to see both Naruto and Spiderman's condition. But she also felt reluctant to just leave abruptly like that. A tap on her shoulder brought her out of her trance and she met Ino's smiling face as she turned her head.

"_Go ahead, Sakura. We'll wait here"_,Ino said.  
>Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it and muttered a quick 'thank you' as she jumped down and followed the medics.<p>

_Some time after…_

"_Ouch ouch ouch ouch! Sakura-chan, what was that for?"_,Naruto half-screamed as a big lump appeared on his head.

"_That's for conveniently ignoring your own condition, you idiot!"_,Sakura said with the same demeanor.

"_But—"_

"_No buts!"_

Spiderman sweatdropped at the sight before him. It was just several minutes after they entered the ward, and then Sakura went storming in. With no greeting or warning, she put a fist on Naruto's head with a force enough to make a small mountain on it.

And they say Naruto's head was supremely thick, so you could imagine how 'passionate' the punch really is.

"_Hey,hey. Chill, Sakura, chill! He's not doing anything wrong"_,Spiderman's attempt to be a peacemaker was proudly rewarded with a smack on his head as well as a new mountain on it. _"Holy fangless vampires! What in the name of George Bush's beard was that for?"_,he yelled with his own set of K-rated curses.

"_You shut up! You're the one that agreed to fight him after he exhausted his chakra! And I thought you're smarter than that"_,Sakura said, pouting her last words out.  
><em>"And was it necessary for you to make another Fuji on my head?"<em>,Spiderman asked.  
><em>"Of course it is!"<em>,she shot back.

"_He's the one challenging me for a fight!"_

"_And you listened to the idiot?"_

"_Well, I sure do. As a matter of fact, it just so happened that the fight helped me master my own version of Rasengan!"_

"_That's not helping at all!"_

"_Uhh… Guys? We got company"_,Naruto finally said after staying out of the crossfires for a while. He pointed to the opened door. Spiderman and Sakura turned their heads to the door and saw a bandaged figure standing there.

"_Hanabi?"_,Spiderman breathed out.

"_And Hinata too. What are you two doing here?"_,Naruto added. While Hinata blushed, just like she used to when near Naruto, Hanabi flashed a smile.

"_We came to congratulate you two. We've heard about the last match!"_,she said. Suprisingly cheerful even though with her hands and a part of her face covered in bandage.

"_Haha, thanks! Well, it could've gone more uneventful if this guy could listen to me for once"_,he said pointing his finger to Naruto. An annoyed Naruto, to be exact.

Hanabi turned to face Naruto. And suddenly, she gave him a thumbs up, _"I'm glad there's someone who would pick a fun road for a change. I guess you're not as boring as Spiderman might be"_.

Naruto returned the thumbs up with an equal look of understanding on his face, _"Don't worry. This guy could be a party-guy anytime even though he's a total jerk"_.

"_Says the guy that got his ass handed by said jerk"_,Spiderman scoffed.

Naruto grinded his teeth as he was struggling to get up and take a fist to Spiderman's masked face. Luckily, the stretchers had straps on them and somehow they were designed to hold an irritated shinobi in place.

"_How's your injuries, Hanabi?"_,Spiderman asked, ignoring Naruto's struggle to stand.

"_I've been better several times before, but I'm alright. It's you that I should worry about"_,Hanabi replied.

Spiderman grinned, it's nice to find some people that would be concerned by your well-being in the middle of I-don't-know-where-am-I for a change, _"I'm fine, thanks for asking. Though, I am a bit concerned. Where's the grumpy Hyuuga heir that fought me before?"_,he teased.

Hanabi smirked, _"She's just gotten some lesson from a good sensei, I guess."_  
><em>"You just had to go the hard way to learn huh?"<em>,Naruto added. Which almost earned him yet another mountain courtesy of Hanabi.

Sakura walked to Hinata, as she felt she needed the shy girl not to be left out, and bent to whisper in her hear, _"How's the talk?"_

Hinata smiled at her friend, _"T-Thankfully, Spiderman's method is pretty_ _effective. She-she's not that rude to me anymore. Hanabi, I mean"_,she said.  
>Sakura smiled. A good news from her friends are always a mood-clearer. And she's happy for Hinata, if she had anything to say about it.<p>

"_That's good to hear, then"_

The Hyuuga girl nodded.

After that, the conversation was mildly interesting, at best. Spiderman making some jokes, Hanabi countering it, Naruto almost gaining the role 'Mountain-Head of Konoha' because of Sakura and Hanabi, Hinata almost fainting when Naruto talked to her.

Overall, everything's pretty normal until Ino barged in with Neji and Lee in tow.

"_You ninjas never knock doors, huh?"_,Spiderman said.

'**If they do, then they wouldn't be the best stealth killers in the whole Asia, you moron'**,Raibi said in Spiderman's subconcious. Putting his hand on his face in frustration.

"_Knocking can wait. Lady Tsunade told me to call you, Naruto, and Hanabi. She said to go to her office for something"_,she said. Sakura frowned at the idea, _"If it's not urgent, can it wait? Naruto and Spiderman was just finished getting treated"_,she reasoned.

"_If it's not that important I'd rather stay here and ogle at Spiderman!"_,Ino said, without a tone of shame.

All the girls present, except Ino, blushed at the implication of her statement. While Neji sighed in frustration and Lee said something about 'burning youthful flames', Naruto had to hold his sides as he contained his laughter.

Spiderman's vein grew visibly on his head, even through the mask. He for once needed to clarify his status, _"Oi…"_,he called out.

Ino glanced at Spiderman with a pair of innocent eyes, contrary to what she just said.

"_I'm taken already"_

To put it dramatically, Ino burst into anime-tears as she heard Spiderman's statement. Spiderman felt sorry for his maybe one and only fan he knew in Konoha. But, he can't let himself trotting through the village of Hidden Leaf with dozens of teenaged girls ogling at him, even though Raibi approved the idea.

Heck, he almost got married before this, if not for the damned-to-hell symbiotic suit.

"_We can chit-chat about this later. Hokage-sama is waiting for us"_,Neji said, void of any emotion even with the growing, pulsing vein on his head.  
><em>"That's right! Baachan would put us through hell if we get to her bad side"<em>,Naruto complied to the stoic Hyuuga.

So they all cleared the room and headed back to the arena.

As they stepped to the arena once more, Naruto could see that Tsunade and several Jounins were waiting for them. Along with the other Kages. One was a short old man with thinning white hair, the other was a huge black-skinned midde-aged man with a yellowish hair and beard.

But, of course, he'd notice the Kazekage first. After all, they've only met several days before.

When the three of them; Naruto, Hanabi and Spiderman; stood in front of the Kages, Tsunade began talking, _"I called you here to clarify who's Chuunin and who's not. As such, we already discussed about it and—"_,but she never finished her words.

"_Well, doesn't that mean the winners of the tournament would be Chuunin?"_,Spiderman asked. Receiving a glare from an annoyed Tsunade, obviously because he cut her off.

"_If that's the case, I wouldn't be calling Hanabi here, now would I?"_,Tsunade said pointing at the only Hyuuga there. Spiderman glanced at the younger female and then back to Tsunade, _"Point taken there"_.

"_Well, anyways. We've discussed it and we've come up with a conclusion. Which is—"_,again, she got cut off. This time by Naruto.  
><em>"Just get to the point, Baa-chan. I'm getting tired standing out like this doing nothing"<em>,Naruto whined.

Tsunade's head expanded as she glared with an inhuman level of killer intent, _"I was getting to the point, brat. Now shut your mouth or you'll get back to the infirmary effectively immideatly for a concussion and six broken ribs!"_,she threatened.

Spiderman, thinking that Tsunade's expanding head was a genjutsu, held up his hand and made a rabbit seal whilst saying _"Kai"_. Unfortunately, nothing happened.

'Wha-what the hell is this jutsu?',he questioned himself.  
><strong>'<strong>_**Kubi Baika no Jutsu **_**(Head Expansion Jutsu)... Hahahaaha, that never gets old!'**,Raibi bellowed in his cage trying to contain his laughter.

Spiderman made a mental note to ask Madam Web to teach him the said jutsu. It's pretty effective to go make Venom piss his pants. Assuming that the suit had a pants part.

"_Now, as I was saying, as we've discussed earlier, we've came to a conclusion. Which is all of you were to be made Chuunin!"_,Tsunade said, leaving the three would-be Chuunin in a state of shock.

Everyone was silent until the silence was overcame by the roar of cheers from the crowd.  
><em>"Whoa, whoa, hold on. Us three?"<em>,Spiderman asked, not believing the fact.

"_Yes, we have already agreed that you three were to be made Chuunin for what you have accomplished in your previous fights. My fellow Kages approve that fact, themselves"_,the Hokage said.

Raikage stepped forward joining Tsunade's speech, _"Hyuuga Hanabi, your fight against my village's Genin team lead by Nadare Toshiro is enough proof to me that you are worthy of becoming Chuunin. And for that, I vote for you. Although, I can't say the same for that black-haired brat from earlier"_,he said.

Hanabi was slightly unnerved by the presence of the Raikage. How couldn't she? When it was Kumogakure that had once tried to kidnap Hinata to gain the Byakugan. Although, the fact that he's not like the previous Raikage and that he voted for her on top of that, relieved Hanabi a little.

Next, was the Tsuchikage. He had a smug grin on his face, _"I must say I'm surprised to see Takeshi beaten like that. He's quite talented for a Genin. As such, I've voted for Spiderman"_,he said. He had considered voting for Naruto, as well. But they were only allowed to vote for one person.

Fortunately, the Kazekage could cover for that.

Said red-haired boy stepped forward to in front of his own vote, _"Though it was a shame that none of Sunagakure's ninjas were able to pass, I was grateful that I was able to see you fight again, Naruto. I've voted for you"_,Gaara said.

Naruto flashed a grin, _"Thanks, Gaara. I knew I could count on you"_.

Gaara nodded affirmative, not dropping his stoic expression.

Three green vests with a red spiral symbol on the back, trademark of the Konoha Chuunin vest, was set in front of them. _"Then with the power bestowed upon me as Hokage, I granted you three the title of Chuunin!"_,Tsunade declared as she handed them the vests. Which was followed by another explosion of cheers by the villagers.

Hanabi put the vest on her. It fit her just right, which Spiderman laid a comment on, _"I'm surprised it's not a size too big"_,he joked. Gaining an irritated glare from the petite Hyuuga.

Spiderman put the vest on him and thought to zip up, but thought better as he got an idea.

"_Umm, Hokage-sama? If I may ask, can I make a slight modification to this vest?"_,he asked politely. Not wanting to arise her anger again.  
><em>"Well, once you were given that vest, it's up to you on how you wear it"<em>,Tsunade answered, confused.

"_Well, then…"_,Spiderman began. He threw the vest up to the air as he shot a Thunder Zap to the vest.

The Kages expression was unreadable as they tried to decipher Spiderman's intentions. As the vest fell back to Spiderman's arms, they could see the vest had transformed into a slimmer version. Now resembling more of a coat or a _haori_.

"_Vests makes me look fat"_,Spiderman said innocently.

The Kages slapped their foreheads. Which was really funny when you think about it.

Naruto was the last one to put on the vest, only he didn't. He just held it in his arms and stared at it. _'If it was orange I'd consider it'_,he thought.

"_What's wrong, Naruto? Are you not going to wear that?"_,Tsunade asked. Naruto just shook his head.

"_Don't take it the wrong way, baachan. It's just that I don't think it'll fit with me"_,the young blonde said grinning. All people present began picturing a green vest on Naruto's black and orange jumpsuit. Definetly not a good match of colors.

"_But, I'll take it anyways. Who knows maybe I could use it for something later on"_,he said.

Tsunade shrugged and just shook her head at the orange-wearing boy's choice of color. It's a pretty unique choice. But she got to admit, Naruto's pretty unique even without the bright orange color.

"_Well then, I congratulate you three on achieving your Chuunin title. I expect hard work from the three of you and also that you continue to show your best"_,she congratulated them.

The three fighters saluted in return, _"Roger, Hokage-sama!"._

Tsunade smiled at the three of them. Proud that she already had three new Konoha Chuunin to promote. And Naruto's one of them. Just another step closer to Hokage she had thought.

"_Spiderman, Naruto. After this, go get Sakura and meet me in my office"_,she ordered.  
><em>"Affirmative"<em>,Spiderman replied. Until he thought of what he just said, 'Damn, Steve's brushing off on me'.

"_What did she say?"_

"_Dunno. She just called us three to go to her office. Might have something to do with our mission"_,Naruto answered Sakura's question.

After they bid farewell to the Hyuugas, Ino and Lee, they began making their way towards the Hokage's office. Naruto had some time to say goodbye to Gaara as well. The redhead Kazekage was as stoic as ever, even though he smiled once and shook the blonde's hand in farewell. The other Kages had left earlier, though.

"_Exactly what is the mission you're going on? I haven't been told any detail about it"_,Spiderman asked.

"_It's the mission to go to the Tenchi Bridge in Kusagakure _(Hidden Grass)_. We'll meet the Akatsuki's spy in Orochimaru's ranks there"_,Sakura said.

"_And then… it's straight to Sasuke"_,Naruto muttered, thought it didn't escape Spiderman and Sakura's ears.

It's been a while that Spiderman understood who this Sasuke guy is to Naruto. Whoever he is, he must have some past with him. And judging by Sakura's reaction, so did she.

Problem was the masked hero doesn't know a thing about Sasuke. Anything general like team affiliation, chakra type, fighting style, or even just a short bio. And since he figured Sasuke is a hard topic for both the blonde and the pinkette, he decided against the idea of asking them that subject.

For now, he just have to lighten up the mood, _"Well, unless we want to get our asses handed to us by the Hokage herself we better hurry, then"_,he joked. Well, no joke, actually. He truly feared the woman if the ANBU hadn't proved enough. So he thought Tsunade was just as scary as Madam Web might be.

That seemed to do the trick as both team 7 members' face lit up with a smile.

So then, they reached the Hokage's office. As they reached the door, Sakura knocked the door several times. No answer. She tried with a harsher knock. No answer.

The three of them looked at each other as they pictured their own worst scenario.

For Spiderman, ever the logic one, he pictured the Hokage in a pool of blood after a successful assassination. Sadistic, but logical nonetheless.

Sakura pictured her master getting drunk AGAIN as a result of another bottle of her favorite sake. It seemed like a harsh insult, thinking that she IS the Hokage and all.  
>No offense, but the blonde fountain-of-youth Hokage was known for her drunken tendencies in mid-work.<p>

Naruto pictured a more different hypothesis. That she's not even there. Maybe out gambling or something. Heck, that's what gained her the name 'The Legendary Sucker'.

So Sakura opened the door to find Tsunade… sleeping peacefully.

Peacefully. That figures. She's trying to get away from her paperwork again.

"_Tsunade-sama. Wake up, we're here"_,Sakura said. Which held no effect as the elder woman still slept.

The pink-haired Chuunin shook her _shishou_'s shoulder in an attempt to wake her up. She stirred, but she still slept.

Naruto sweatdropped as he thought of how many sleeping pills the woman actually took.

"_I guess it's high time we wake up sleeping beauty, isn't it?"_,Spiderman suggested, not being able to contain the mischievous grin on his face.

Naruto gave him a questioned look, before getting where his friend was getting at. He grinned mischievously, being a fellow prankster and all he knew exactly what Spiderman was going to do.

Sakura was left in the dark as Spiderman made a clone silently whispering _"Kagebunshin no jutsu"_.  
>She was not sure what was going on, even though after that the Spiderman clone transformed into a spider with a <em>henge<em>.

She did, however, notice Naruto grin wider every passing second. Naruto gestured her to come closer, _"You wouldn't want to be so near to her, Sakura-chan"_,he said.

Sakura paused to contemplate Naruto's meaning until she shrugged the thought off and joined to watch the show.

The spider crawled it's way to the desk and hopped to Tsunade's coat and continued an upward crawl to her face. Once there, it poked Tsunade several times on the eyelids softly to wake her up. It got an effect as the eyelids began to open. But the AFTER-effect was way beyond the spider's expectation.

"_EEEEK! Spider!"_,Tsunade's eyes shot open as she realized that a spider was stuck on her face. In instinct, she punched the spider with her fist. But as such, she punched her face as well.

The clone spider poof'ed away, revealing a nosebleeding Tsunade with an irritated look on her face.

Naruto bursted out laughing out loud while Spiderman had to keep his sides from splitting. Even Sakura had to clamp her mouth shut with her hand to refrain from laughing.

"_Okay, which one of you did that?"_,Tsunade growled, leveling a glare. Not wanting to be the target of her wrath, both Naruto and Sakura pointed at Spiderman who was frantically sweating.

Several seconds later, Spiderman was left on the floor with a smoking mound on his head. Courtesy of the Fifth Hokage.

"_Why does people these days have no more sense of humor?"_,he muttered still having his face planted to the ground. Tsunade ignored him and began talking.

"_Now, I'm sure you three might be wondering why you were called here…"_,she slightly paused giving time for the three shinobi to nod at her assumption.

"_Does it have something to do with meeting with Orochimaru's spy?"_,Naruto asked curiously.  
><em>"It does. But the main reason I called you here was to prepare a team for you, since Sasuke is no longer here and Kakashi hospitalized, I've thought to prepare you with a new five-man team"<em>,Tsunade explained.

"_A five-man team? Isn't that too much just to confront a spy?"_,Sakura gasped. A five-man team was usually made for emergency reinforcements. For her master to use that idea for this mission was… overall paranoid.

"_Don't forget that Orochimaru might realize that he's being spied on. We'll need more people on this. Furthermore, there's a chance that this is the Akatsuki's trap."_,the Hokage reasoned.

"_Am I in that team?"_,Spiderman asked.

"_Unfortunately, yes you are. After all, you were sent here to help, right?"_,Tsunade said sarcastically.

Spiderman thought for a moment. He guessed that's what Madam Web meant by 'helping out a village'.

"_Anyway, I've thought of one man to lead your team. What I need you to do is to look for another teammate to fill in for Sasuke"_,the Hokage said again.

Naruto thought for a moment. Fill in for Sasuke? He didn't know why but that sounded a little bit harsh. Personally, he didn't want to replace Sasuke's spot with anyone else.

He was determined to welcome Sasuke back into team 7 with open hands.

The Godaime Hokage noticed the faraway look on Naruto's face. She knew what he was thinking about. Sighing, she turned her sight to Naruto, _"Don't worry, Naruto. It's a temporary team. Feel free to ask anyone you want to join if they have some free time, if you want"_, she said.

"_Yeah, I guess I will. Thanks Tsunade-baachan!"_,he said smiling.

Tsunade smiled back, _"Well, you've got your orders. Once you find a suitable teammate, bring that person to me"_,she said.

"_Understood"_,the three said in unison.

**xoxoxo**

The infamous trio headed to their own designated places. Naruto to Ichiraku's since it's lunch time, Sakura to go shopping for something, and Spiderman went back to his apartment.

Naruto had of course asked if Sakura want to go with him, being the relentless one. Sakura threatened him to pay for her and he sadly looked into Gama-chan and cursed the fact that he hasn't got any mission with honorable payment. Well, except the one to save Gaara back from before.

As Spiderman left the two, a thought intrupted his mind.

He just remembered a fact. Missions, whether as ninjas or as the hero he is back home would have the chance of not returning safely. At least that's what ol' Pirate Nick told him.

He sighed. The masked hero just hoped that he brought along the transmitter with him.

_With Naruto…_

The whiskered ninja had just finished his bowls of ramen at Ichiraku's and left with a contended face. _"After this, I guess it's searching for a new teammate. Now… who would fit in…?"_,he said as he rubbed his chin in contemplation.

"_Gaaah! Finding another guy is just a nuisance!"_,he let out. He jumped off to search for some possible candidates.

He tried Kurenai's team, which didn't work out as good. He first saw Shino, though he didn't realize it was him until he talked. Then Kiba came. And thus, began the reunion.

Hinata came and let out a yelp as she realized Naruto's there. Naruto turned and called out to her. Blushing, she walked to join up.

"_So you said you're short on members, huh?"_,Kiba asked.  
><em>"Yeah! Please can you join me for a while? I can't just pick some random shinobi"<em>,Naruto reasoned.

"_Well, you caught us in a bad time. Kurenai-sensei just assigned us on a mission. We should begin it when she arrive"_,the dog-rider said smirking.

"_Whaat? Aw, come on. I mean, you already has four members! There's Akamaru to fill in, right?"_

"_Are you kidding me? Akamaru can only work with me. Besides, our combination attacks would only work together"_,Kiba said.

"_Guuh… Oh! How about you Hinata? Would you be able to go with me?"_,Naruto asked turning to the Hyuuga.  
>A blush appeared before she spoke, <em>"I-I'm actually important for this mission. Kurenai-sensei said that-that it's a recoinasannce mi-mission"<em>.

"_Hmmm… how about you, Shino?"_

"_I'm also needed for this mission. Why? Because as Hinata said, it's a recoinasannce mission. So—"_

"_Ahhh! That sucks! That means none of you can help me?"_,Narut cut him off.

A twitch was visible on Shino's eyebrows, the only thing that could make out that he is irritated.

"_G-gomen, Naruto-kun"_,Hinata apologized.  
><em>"<em>*huff* _O well, I guess it's back to square one, then. Thanks, anyways guys"_,he said.

"_Sure thing. If it wasn't for the mission, we'd help you out"_,the Inuzuka boy said.

After that, Naruto jumped off again. In search of a suitable teammate.

_Meanwhile…_

"Well, I'll be damned. I guess I need a map, first",Spiderman muttered in English to himself.  
>He was just reaching his apartment when a detail went to his brain. Exactly WHERE in Japan IS Konoha?<p>

He'd heard Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, but Konoha was a village. A big one, but a village nevertheless. So it'd be hard to pinpoint the exact position.

"Now where should I buy a map?"

As he walked, a pair of emerald eyes locked on him. Instantly, said person called out to him.

"_Hey, Spiderman! I need some help here!"_,the girl said.

"_Hm? Sakura? What's with those plastic bags?"_,he said, pointing at the handful of plastic bags in her hands. And the number of it would tell everyone that's she's moving to another village, technically.

"_Oh, just help me! I won't have any arms if I keep this up!"_,Sakura said.  
><em>"Pfft, drama queen"<em>,Spiderman muttered as he grabbed a handful of those plastic bags.

"_Wow, it's pretty heavy. What're you up to, Sakura? Camping the night out or something?"_,he asked.

"_Of course not! It's for the mission"_,Sakura retorted.  
>Spiderman raised an invisible eyebrow in curiosity, <em>"Oh? And a mission requires a sack of sugar, some cooking utensils, and in the name of the Fourth Kage of America why would we need a foldable chair?"<em>,he deadpanned.

The pinkette blushed as she fidgeted nervously on her feet, _"Umm, those are my homely needs. Sorry"_.

Spiderman sighed at the kunoichi's antics, _"Anyway, Sakura do you know any place that sells a map around here?"_.

"_A map? Well, it's just around that corner. Why would you need a MAP?"_

"_I was planning to send a message to my friends in the Avengers. But I'll be in trouble if they ask my whereabouts and I don't know where exactly am I"_

Sakura rubbed her chin while closing her eyes in thought. It's true that Spiderman's friend needs to know where he is, but…

"_Umm, I guess you should see for yourself about the map"_,she finally said.

"_Okay,then"_,Spiderman said dashing to said maps store.  
><em>"Hey! Wait for me!"<em>,Sakura yelled.

As they reached the store, Spiderman looked around to find the storekeeper. _"Excuse me, sir. Can I have your most accurate map please?"_

The storekeeper's eyebrow raised slightly, it's rare that someone would be buying maps if they're already a Konoha villager. At least that's what he thought seeing his customer coming in with a girl wearing a leaf head protector.

"_Sure thing, here you go"_,he said handing Spiderman a map with a drawing of a land in a shape of…

What-The-Hell?

_With Naruto…_

"_That's why I'm telling you. It's a drag, but I have to be a proctor for the next Chuunin exam. Having to memorize every detail of the test is not really preferable"_,a pineapple-shaped haired boy said.

Naruto had a blank look of disappointment on his face.

"_Because I've become your friend, I've would like to help. But I'm not in a position to just do anything I want"_,Shikamaru continued.

Naruto's face kept on going blanker in disappointment.

"_It's the Fifth's orders. If it's about angry women, my mom is already more than enough"_,Shikamura finished.  
><em>"Well, then. Maybe I can help out"<em>

Naruto turned to the voice and saw a boy his age with a red vest and armor. His red brownish hair was longer than before, but the spiral on his cheeks still remain the same.

"_Chouji!"_,Naruto exclaimed.

"_Chouji, I thought you already had a mission with Ino and Asuma"_,Shikamaru said.  
><em>"I'll try to talk to Asuma-sensei about it, no biggie. After all, I can't let Naruto go alone right?"<em>,Chouji said with a cheeky smile.

"_Thanks, Chouji!"_,Naruto said giving him a thumbs up.

Shikamaru sighed, _"Talking to Asuma would be pointless. After all, he's under orders from Hokage-sama"_.

Chouji shrugged and pulled out a bag of chips. In a matter of seconds, he began munching the snack down.

"_Hehee. You're still eating much, huh? To be honest, you look a little fatt—"_,Naruto said. Oblivious to the fact he used the taboo word.

Chouji's eyes immideatly went into battle glare and he threw the bag of chips to the sky as he enlarge his hand and charge towards Naruto.

Had Shikamaru not jumped and moved him out of the way, Naruto wouldn't be more surprised to find something that strangely looked like…

A lion of ink?

End of Chapter 16

**Well, that takes care of that. Frankly, I think this chapter is a little 'loosen up' if you know what I mean. Ending's pretty dull and pretty much copying from the canon. And of course, you know who's ink lion was that, right? About Spiderman's shock, it'll be explained in the next chapter. **

**Yes, my imaginary part of my brain was hurting from my tests before.**

**And why would they invent tests again?**

_**Jutsu Description:**_

_Kubi Baika no Jutsu_(Head Expansion Jutsu)- Heck, I don't even know why I'm describing this _jutsu_. It's actually a _jutsu_ that made your head seemingly expand using a mix of killer intent and spiritual pressure. Not a genjutsu, and neither it is an Akimichi clan _jutsu_.


	18. Chapter 17

**Sorry Note: My deep apologies, readers. I've came up with a flaw in my fanfic.  
>There's the fact that I decided to use x's and o's as the change in point of view. But, just like with the issue when I said I used lines as the borders between POV's, it didn't show. So I apologize to anyone that finds my writing unreadable.<strong>

…**  
>AN's too long, so oh well, let's just get started…<strong>

**Disc,:I don't own Naruto. If by some coincidence I did, I'd be eating ramen right now.**

**Chapter 17**

**Double Trouble**

It started as a normal purchase of a map. Which started pretty well, according to Spiderman. He met up with Sakura and proceeded to the maps shop. He took a map scroll and was about to pay for it when he realized an awesomely disturbing truth.

The map… it looks nothing like the world map.

"_Excuse me if I'm being too frank, but why do the lands look like a freaking Pangea?"_,Spiderman yelled in disbelief.

It's true. The continent containing the shinobi lands (Hi no Kuni, Kaze no Kuni, Mizu no Kuni, etc.) looks more like the times of the dinosaur. Hell, all the lands are all merged into one gigantic continent.

"_Well, this is the map of the Elemental Nations. The map you're searching for is a normal world map. I've ran out of that one"_,the stunned storekeeper said.

"_Well never mind that! I don't recall seeing this kind of continent around Japan. What the hell does that mean?"_,Spiderman said. He's clearly frustrated. This means his trouble has doubled.

First off, he still had to find the Avenger transmitter that he always brought anywhere. But he was still doubting the possibility that he might bring it with him.  
>Secondly, there's the problem being that he haven't seen this kind of topography on the map before. That topography being the whole elemental nation.<p>

This means he don't have a ride home.

Damn.

"_Well, there IS a reason that you can't find the elemental nation in the world map"_,Sakura said hesitantly.

"_Which is?"_,the masked hero asked again.

"_It's classified"_

Spiderman let out a sigh as his shoulders slouched. _"Sheesh. How am I suppsed to go back after all this, then?"_

Sakura blinked in surprise, _"Go back? You're leaving already?"_,she asked.  
>Spiderman chuckled, <em>"Well, my mission from my mentor was to help out as a backup. She doesn't told me anything about staying here for too long"<em>.

As soon as he saw Sakura's sad gaze, he began to frantically stutter some excuses, _"Um, don't get me wrong and all. It's just that… I'm not really planning to, let's say—Umm… Leave my aunt alone in her house for too long. Yeah, that's right! She might be worrying sick about me"_,he said scratching the back of his neck.

Her sad gaze was still there, but she smiled. That's a plus.

"_It's not that I don't like being with you guys. Really, it's been fun. I swear you guys are much more exciting than the guys back home."_,Spiderman added again. This time grinning.

"_Thanks, Spiderman."_,the pinkette thanked him.

The older man nodded and decided to buy the map; useless as it might be, it may help him in some way. As they walked out the shop, Sakura glanced at Spiderman again, _"It's not me you should worry about. Naruto may take it harder than me. After all, you became his close friend in a matter of hours"_,she said.

"_Keh, knowing Naruto, he'd try to make me stay any way possible. It's better to tell him just before I leave"_,Spiderman said.

"_Hmm, you got a point there"_,the younger kunoichi said.

Spiderman chuckled as a thought passed his mind, _"After all, he already got someone to look after him, now hasn't he?"_. He said that while giving Sakura a knowing look.

"_Really? Who is it?"_

"_Huh? You really don't know?"_,Spiderman said in mock disbelief. He'd play with her for a while. It's fun to play with young love every once in a while. And Sakura happened to be a fun person to be picked on, he thought.

The pink-haired kunoichi shook her head, _"Not one that I might know"_,she said. Spiderman huffed in frustration.

"_I can't believe you guys are so dense, seeing as ninjas you should've been really perceptive"_,he muttered under his breath.  
><em>"What was that?"<em>,Sakura asked in a dangerous tone.

"_Nothing. Hey, I should go meet with the Hokage. I'll see ya later, Sakura"_,Spiderman waved off as he escaped Sakura's imminent wrath.

Sakura scowled as her target of wrath got away. She exhaled and continued her own trek back to her home. She still has that assignment Tsunade-shishou gave her, and she'd hate to make her wait any longer.

_Meanwhile…_

Chouji's enlarged fist slammed into the ink lion and dispersed it into a splash of black ink. While Chouji was busy fending off yet another lion from above, Shikamaru searched for the user of the hand-drawn beasts.

He found him. The user of the strange _jutsu_ was a boy their age with a short, black hair and a pale skin. In his hand is a brush with some ink on it as well as a scroll on his lap.

Problem was, he wore a Leaf headband. Which means he's either a spy or a guy with too much loan time, or so his clever brain decipher.

"_Naruto, go after him! I'll cover your back!"_,he said bringing his hands to make a familiar handsign.

"_I got it!"_,as he said that, Naruto dashed at full speed towards the ink user. Unfortunately, the painter's hand was as quick, and he already painted ten or moreso lion and brought his hand into a seal.

"_Ninpo: ChoujuGiga_(Ninja Art: Great Beast Imitation)_"_,he whispered.

The several beasts he drew launched themselves out of the scroll and grew in size. Naruto skidded into a halt as he saw the many beasts that were going to lunge at him. As he made his hands into a cross-fingered seal, Shikamaru yelled to Naruto.

"_Naruto, duck!"_

He did just as he was told to. As he ducked, he saw why he had to.

"_Ninpo: Kagenui_(Ninja Art: Shadow Sewing)_!"_

The shadow that had followed Naruto as a backup spread and sharpened as they stabbed the lunging beasts right at their abdomens. Naruto jumped and pulled a hidden kunai from his sleeve with a swipe of his arm.

The painter shinobi was just as fast as he was able to block Naruto's kunai with a short wakizashi strapped on his back.

"_Teme… Who the hell are you?"_,Naruto growled.  
><em>"You sure are slow. Do you even have something that dangles between your legs?"<em>,the stranger, albeit a little harsh, joked while placing a smile on his face.

"_Not here? Then where is she?"_

Spiderman had arrived at the office, only to be greeted by who seemed to be Tsunade's assistant. She wore a black kimono with a purple obi to hold it in place. She had her black hair short and spiky in the ends. Just your average ninja, he supposed, if not for the red _haori_-wearing pig she was holding in her arms.

"_Yes, the elders had a meeting with her. She should finish in a couple of minutes"_,Shizune said reassuringly.  
><em>"Well, then. I won't mind waiting here, but do you?"<em>,Spiderman asked, receiving a soft smile from the apprentice.

"_Of course not. Have a seat"_,she smiled and gestured Spiderman to sit on a chair that somehow escaped Spiderman's sight.

As he sat, he eyed the black-haired woman curiously,_ "Say, what's your name?"_.

"_I'm Shizune, Tsunade-sama's first apprentice. And you must be…Spiderman, right?"_

The masked superhero blinked in surprise, _"I can't believe I'm THAT famous already. Just what I expected from a ninja village; information sure run fast"_,he said, receiving a giggle from the jet-haired woman.

"_That's not the reason. What, you think no one watched your fight in the Chuunin Exams?"_,she spoke.

"_Heh, guess even here I'm that loveable. So, since you're the Hokage's first apprentice, I take it you're Sakura's senior?"_

Shizune pulled a chair and sat a few feet from Spiderman, _"So you've met Sakura? I thought so. No wonder you seemed really friendly to Naruto. How'd you figure that she's my junior?"_.

Spiderman shrugged, _"She kept calling Hokage-sama with –shishou. Anyone would figure that out sooner or later"._

"_My, you're really observant, aren't you?"_,Shizune smiled.

"_Not really"_,he smiled back.

A short silence followed after. Seeing as Tsunade might take it longer than expected, a conversation with her apprentice may be helpful.  
>After all, boredom usually gets to Spiderman more often than not.<p>

"_Soooo… How're you related to Naruto?"_,Shizune finally asked.

"_By related I guess you meant aquainted. Well, I got a mission from my mentor to help the village out. When I got here, though, two ANBU mistook me for a spy and tried to attack me"_,he explained.  
><em>"Oh my, were you hurt?"<em>,Shizune asked worriedly.

Spiderman grinned hearing the tone of worry. Once again, it's good to have people that worries about you.

"_Nah, you should be more worried about them than me. Anyways, when they had let me through, I met with Tsunade-sama in this office debriefing Naruto and Sakura. And, off the record; what they wore were nothing that I'd expected from ninjas nowadays"_,he commented.

Shizune hummed in understanding, signaling Spiderman to continue his story.

"_Well, after a short introduction, Hokage-sama gave me a mission. Which is to help out as a backup for Naruto and Sakura for their mission. Kinda odd you know? The fact that she would send a request so far away to America just for me to give some backup. Not a really efficient way to do a mission"_

After his breath-depleting explanation, Spiderman saw Shizune staring at him with obvious confusion. He scratched his head in embaressment, _"Ah, sorry. I must look like a drabbling stranger talking nonsense, huh?"_.

Shizune snapped out of her trance and shook her head smiling, _"No, not at all. Though, it concerned me. The Hokage didn't told you anything about the mission?"_

"_Nope, she hadn't give me any details to go with. The only thing I know about this mission is that it concerns some guy called Sasuke"_,he said, half-yawned. The boredom was getting the better of him. While Shizune stared at him with utter confusion.

"_How do you know about that?"_

"_Well, apparently Naruto's being all fidgety and anxious to get him back. I just thought this might be a rescue mission to bring this Sasuke back from where ever he is now"_

Before Shizune could lay a comment on that, a voice broke through the air from the door, _"Aah, just what I'd expect from Web's pupil. You take the observation habit after her!"_

Both people snapped at the voice's source, which turned out to be Tsunade.

"_You've finished the meeting, Tsunade-sama?"_,Shizune asked.  
><em>"Well, there won't actually be any bothersome meeting had you didn't bicker about earlier, Shizune"<em>,her mentor shot back, making her squirm and fidget nervously in her seat.

"_Hey, Hokage-sama! Do you have a minute or two? I got several things to ask"_,Spiderman asked as he rose from his seat.

"_I'd figure as much. Obviously, you came here without knowing anything, huh?"_,Tsunade sighed, as she knew from Spiderman's behavior that he was a complete lost idiot.

"_Actually, there's something else I wanted to ask"_,he said reaching the map in his utility bag, _"There's this map I bought from the local store. Thing is, I've never seen this kind of map before. Heck, the topography doesn't match any continent in the world. Why's that?"_

Again, the Godaime Hokage sighed. She muttered something like _'She really didn't tell him anything'_.

She moved towards her seat behind her desk and plopped on the ever comfy chair. Once she's done with her positioning, she looked up to Spiderman, _"What I tell you does not leave the shinobi world without permission, understood?"_

"_The shinobi world? What's this all abou—"_

"_Just listen, okay?"_,Tsunade snapped at him. Which instantly clamped his mouth shut and made Shizune flinch by the sudden outburst.

"_I thought Madam Web already told you about this. Well, it doesn't matter, you ought to find out sooner or later"_,she said again, calmer this time.

Spiderman just nodded dumbly and urged her to continue. _"The reason why the elemental nations, or more precisely the shinobi continent itself, was not on the map was because it's not visible to see to begin with"_

"_Not visible? I'm seeing the very same ground I'm walking on right now! How's that invisible?"_,Spiderman asked. A bit confused by Tsunade's statement.

"_Not invisible to the naked eye. I meant invisible to the satellite which outer people used to look at the world"_,she explained.

Spiderman's eyes widen under his mask, but the furrows of his eyebrows were enough indication for both women to understand that he's totally confused. _"How's that even possible? If it can even manage to escape the satellite's vision, then there's must be a very huge electro-magnetic pulse power source to actually disrupt the signal! There's no way that a machine that could cover a whole continent even exists!"_,he shot at her.

Both Tsunade and Shizune looked at each other with a realizing look on their faces. Tsunade then turned back to face Spiderman, _"Electro-magnetic? So that explains that…"_,the blonde muttered.

The spider-bitten hero groaned in frustration as he was left in the dark again, _"What? What explains what?"_,he said impatiently.

"_To us ninjas, there's a legend of a sage. A sage, which was told to be the first teacher of ninjutsu, named Rikudou Sennin _(Sage of Six Paths)_"_,she began speaking.

"_And what's the connection of the legend with this was…?"_,Spiderman asked once again.

"_The Rikudou Sennin was known to be the strongest ninja known to man, being the first one and all. There's a lot of legend concerning the sage, one was considering the Tailed Beasts"_,Spiderman visibly flinch when Tsunade explained that, _"and another was that he used an extremely strong Raiton jutsu on the shinobi continent. I figured, that his jutsu maybe was an electro-magnetic pulse ninjutsu. Or so you've said"_,she finished, leaving a stunned Spiderman in front of her.

'A gigantic electro-magnetic pulse ninjutsu? Was that even possible that a guy could use so much to cover an entire continent?',he thought. He shook his head to clear his thought, _"Why would he do that, may I ask?"_

"_He said it was to protect and hide the shinobi world from the other part of the world. The sage was known for his powers and vast knowledge, and legend said he had knowledge about the western's liking of war. To be frank, he's trying to protect the shinobi world from people like you"_,the Hokage said.

Silence filled the room as Tsunade finished her tale. A few moments passed and Spiderman rose his voice to speak.

"_Then…why asked me to help on this mission? I could've understood that if it was such a high-classed secret like that I won't bother you all. But not only you asked Madam Web to send me here, you also put me into Naruto's team and put me in the chuunin exam. Why?"_,he asked, voice full of confusion and wonder.

The Hokage had a faraway look in the passing moment, _"To be honest, your master was the first outsider to discover of the shinobi continent. And she was also the first one to leave unscathed… The whole shinobi forces considered her an ally and had a high level of trust in her"_,she stood and walked to Spiderman's side. She then put her hand on his shoulder, _"Should she send her trusted pupil, then we unconditionally trust you as well"_,a grin was visible on her face as Spiderman took a glance at her. A heaved sigh came out of his mouth, _"Thanks"_.

Tsunade smiled as she pulled her hand off his shoulder, _"So, any other question you want to ask?"_

"_Yeah. Well, I'm gonna need a ride home after this and… I know that outsiders' shouldn't know about this place, but I'm going to need the Elemental Nation's real location in the map if I were to get out of here after this. That is, if you permit"_,he said with haste.

Tsunade had her hand curled holding her chin in a thoughtful expression. Well, Spiderman had a point. If he were to go back to America, he would need some way or another to leave. She huffed, and then wrote something.

"_I heard that auto-piloting is a possible option for things like this"_,she said, handing Spiderman the once blank piece of paper; now filled with number of some kind. Spiderman looked confused by what the numbers meant, so Tsunade continued, _"That's the coordination for the Konoha's location. Use it, but don't let anybody else know about that"_

The masked hero nodded and then looked thoughtful for a moment before clearing his throat, _"Umm, would you mind lending me an access to look at the recent shinobi files?"_

Tsunade looked a bit shocked at the request for a moment, _"What for?"_,she asked.

"_I've figured that this is a rescue mission. One to save Sasuke, or so Naruto told me his name was. I need some info on him should I am to confront him"_,he reasoned.

Tsunade hummed in understanding while thinking about the idea. True, for Spiderman to do the mission he needed every detail of it. He seems trustworthy enough, it wouldn't hurt to try, the slug sannin thought.

"_Well, okay. But you'll have Shizune to overview your search in the archive. She'll direct you to the shinobi files"_,Tsunade said.  
><em>"That's great!"<em>,Spiderman said, grinning.

"_Well, come on, Spiderman! We don't have all day"_,Shizune called, suddenly already waiting at the front door. Spiderman could swear he had only seen her beside the Hokage several seconds ago. It's either she's fast, or her presence is thin, he concluded.

Well, anyways he followed her out.

"_I asked you who the hell are you!"_,Naruto yelled.

The earlier kunai and wakizashi pushed each ther away from the saberlock. The painter gesture would look like he was trying to attack again.

Had Shikamaru's overlength shadow didn't try to stop said painter, maybe he would.

The painter jumped high in the air and made a one handed-seal to run away, _"We'll meet again, Naruto-kun"_,he said as he used an ink shunshin to teleport God knows where.

"_Wait!"_,Naruto tried to stop him, but he didn't have the chance.

Naruto growled as he lost sight of the assaulter. While down there, Shikamaru and Chouji was thinking about it themselves. At least, until a feminine voice called them, _"Chouji! So you are here after all?"_

Chouji turned and caught the sight of a rather pissed blonde-haired, purple wearing kunoichi teammate of his. He tried to apologize, seeing that pissed off kunoichi were rather scary.

"_Ino, gomen. There's a strange guy that attacked us"_,he said.  
><em>"Strange guy?"<em>,Ino said putting her hand over her eyes to get a better view.

After a few seconds, she turned to Chouji, _"Baka. That's Naruto"_,she said a-matter-of-factly.  
><em>"No,umm… the attacker's not Naruto. Ano…"<em>,the Akimichi said.

Shikamaru sighed, _"Leave it Chouji. Girls are so troublesome"_,he muttered the last part out.  
>Ino ignored him and called out to Naruto instead, <em>"Hey, Naruto! Come down here!"<em>

Naruto, hearing his name called, turned and saw the Ino-Shika-Chou trio down in the alley. He jumped down and ran towards them. _"Ino? What're you doing here?"_,he asked.

"_Calling for Chouji. We've got a mission with Asuma-sensei"_,she spoke.

"_Whaaat? Even you guys too? Man, now who should I ask to do it?"_,he exclaimed. Okay, that means Team Kurenai and Team Asuma cannot be asked to come with him. And Team Gai was out of the question since they were out doing yet another mission. Seriously, his options were running low.

So what? Does he have to call the Konohamaru Corps? Hell, no.

"_Do what?"_,Ino asked.  
><em>"I need a new teammate for a mission. But I haven't had any luck finding any"<em>,Naruto said, sighing.

"_Well, my team is going to a mission. I guess I can't help you. Sorry, Naruto"_,the other blonde apologized.

The orange-wearing blonde squinted his eyes while thinking, until he came up with a conclusion, _"*sigh* I guess I'll just look for Sakura and see if she had any luck"_,he said.

"_Well, then. My regards to Forehead, Naruto!"_,Ino waved as he took off.

"_Alright. Later guys!"_,he waved and the other two waved back.

_In another place…_

Right now, Spiderman was browsing through the archive for files of shinobi biodata. He haven't got much luck, only to got Naruto's and Sakura's files. Which he was now reading, and he quote mentally, 'Uzumaki Naruto. Age: 16. Affiliation: Konoha shinobi, Gennin level (he'd guessed these were the older archive that hasn't be replaced). Team 7, captain: Hatake Kakashi, teammates: Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura.  
>Bla, bla, bla, yatta yatta. Known elemental affinity: Unknown. Hmm, a pupil of Jiraiya the Toad Sage. Who the hell is that?', he flipped the page to continue his reading, 'Note: Current holder of the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and one of the successor of Rasengan, one of the Fourth Hokage's original jutsu. Now that's fancy. What does it meant by "current holder"?',he thought as he finished the back page. Other pages such as mission accomplishment and other things were ignored.<p>

He read Naruto's biodata, only to find several things unreadable, 'Born in October 10th as an infant, possible parents are xCLASSIFIEDx. What?'

He kept reading for a while, but the only things he got were only birthdays and address.

He turned to Sakura's file. Okay, reading other people's file was not a good thing to do. Not that he cared, he needed info on his teammates.

'Haruno Sakura. Age: 16. Affiliation: Konoha kunoichi, Chuunin level. Granted access of the hospital as a vice-headmaster. Sweet',he smirked. 'Team 7, captain: Hatake Kakashi, teammates: Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke',he stopped reading and looked at the ceiling of the library.

"_Sheesh. Says here and in Naruto's file that Sasuke is their teammate. Was, I'd guess"_,he muttered.

He then continued reading, 'Known elemental affinity: Unknown. Possibly capable of Doton (Earth style) techniques. Pupil of Tsunade the Slug Sannin, #Godaime Hokage#'. After that, he turned to the biodata part, 'Born 8th of September, member of the Haruno clan. Parents: Haruno Masaru and Haruno Yoshino. No known siblings… Hold on just one freakin' minute! What's this?'

He flipped back the page so fast it nearly ripped off. That doesn't matter, he saw something that caught his mind.

'Guardian:…. Oneiru Cynthia? (translated to Japanese speaking. It spells Cynthia O'Neil in English) What the hell?',reading that part of the pink-haired kunoichi's file did more than shock the heart out of him. He knew that name anywhere, having her gave him her identity not too long ago. To find his mentor a guardian for his newfound friend, he never heard her mention of becoming a guardian for anyone, let alone someone practically on the other side of the world.

"_Madam Web is… Sakura's guardian?"_,he let out.

He aimed his eyes to the texts yet again, 'Recently, said guardian had left the Elemental Nation to unknown location… I guess that's must be when she's training as a Sage'

He made a mental note to ask Sakura about this. Whether or not she remembered this, he needed to know regardless.

He began thinking of how Madam Web was aquainted to this village, or more precisely the whole shinobi world. Tsunade herself said it, right?

'_The whole shinobi forces considered her an ally and had a high level trust in her'_,she had said. He trusted the Hokage's words, but until now, he hadn't find the reason of that well-built trust.

Now he had. But it just leads to many other questions.

'I'll look into that later, but for now…', for now he just have to find Sasuke's file.

He had spent two hours at best in the archive, searching and reading every file he deemed useful. But he had yet to find Sasuke's.

He sighed and poked his head from beside the archive door, _"Nee, Shizune. Can I ask you something?"_.

Shizune, who was waiting for him the entire time, looked up from the book she was reading.  
>You see, the archive room is actually a part of Konoha's library. Having Shizune as the headmaster of said library, Shizune knew every bit of the booked and unbooked texts that were lying in there like the back of her hand, <em>"What is it, Spiderman?"<em>,she asked.

"_I can't find Sasuke's file anywhere in this section"_,he said pointing at the section he just grabbed some file from, receiving a look of confusion from Shizune.

"_What section did you search for it?"_,she asked. It's impossible that she didn't know of any file, let alone any important ones. There must be something wrong.

Spiderman took a step back and looked at the plank hanged on the wall, _"Uhh, Konoha Shinobi"_,he said, unsure.

Shizune huffed in relief, thank God it wasn't any file robbery, _"Well, Sasuke's file is in the Missing Nin section"_,she said.

It took several moments for Spiderman to comprehend the meaning of Shizune's words, _"Missing…nin? I thought this was a rescue mission!"_

Shizune's gaze lowered, giving an aura of sadness, _"Actually it's not my place to speak about this…"_

Thankfully, Spiderman get the idea. He raised his hand to stop her from speaking, _"Then don't. I understand. Though, it kinda surprise me that we're going to save someone who's a missing-nin"_

The Hokage's first apprentice just smile weakly and kept looking at Spiderman, who by now is browsing the Missing-Nin section of the archive for Sasuke's file.

"_Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke. Come out, come out wherever you are"_,he muttered in a sing-song tone. Which really made Shizune giggle from the action.

"_I got it!"_,Spiderman let out and pulled the file out. On the white-clad file, was written Sasuke's name.

As he opened the file, Spiderman was greeted by a picture of a boy; around thirteen or so, with a hairstyle so unique it mimics a chicken's ass feather. A cold, obsidian black pair of eyes and a Leaf hitai-ate on his forehead.

'Must've taken when he's still here',he thought.  
>There's a symbol of a white and red colored fan beside the picture. The symbol of the Uchiha clan.<p>

'Uchiha Sasuke. Age when defected: 14. Latest affiliation: Konoha shinobi, Gennin level. Team 7 (former), captain: Hatake Kakashi, teammates: Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura. Known elemental affinity: Fire, Lightning. Kekkei Genkai (bloodline limit): Sharingan, level three. _?Sharingan? Look file kekkei genkai page 25_'

A small note was imprinted on the bottom of the page and Spiderman would need to remind himself to get that particular file. For now, he just needed to continue.

'Defected Konoha and joined with Oto forces lead by Orochimaru, the Snake Sannin. Okay, that means the three of these Sannins had Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke under their tutelage. Now that gotta means something',he mused.

He reached Sasuke's biodata, 'Born 19th of August, member of the now extinct Uchiha clan. Extinct? What the hell?',he thought.

'Hmm, Parents: Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Kaeri. Siblings: Uchiha Itachi. Itachi is also the one who slaughtered the entire Uchiha clan. What, so he's a one-man Osama bin Laden or something?',he silently thought. Having a homicidal maniac as a clan member, he'd shuddered to think if his family member was like that.

He flipped the file closed and sighed. It's really a lot to take in. Finding your friend's parental information classified, while the other had his mentor as her guardian, and the guy both his friend were chasing is a nuke-nin. Yeah, that's not your normal cup of Earl Grey.

He walked out of the Missing-nin section and called out, _"Shizune, I'm done here"_

Shizune stood up and smiled as she did so, _"Okay, then. You got everything you need?"_

"_I did. Not the way I'd think it would, but it's enough"_,he replied.

Shizune nodded and lead them out of the library, having a thoughtful-looking Spiderman in tow.

_Outside…_

Sakura was walking in a fast pace in search of her two teammate. Her master just ordered her to meet with her new captain just as she was dropping her master's first errand; which was a new version of soldier pill made by herself, and her teammates were to meet with said captain as well.

Strangely, she also said that one more new member was also waiting for them. Not knowing who that person might be, she shrugged it off and continued her search.

She found one of them, who right now was walking with Shizune out of the Konoha Library. She quirked and eyebrow at that, since that was an odd sight.

"_Hey, Spiderman!"_,she called.

Said man turned to look at her and waved back at her, _"Sakura? What's up?"_

"_Tsunade-sama said that we're going to meet with our new team captain, as well as another new member. She sent me to get you and Naruto. Although, if you have something you have to do with Shizune-senpai, I could give you some time"_,she said winking mischievously at the last part.

"_Sakura!"_,her senior exclaimed, embarrassed, while Spiderman just groaned.

"_Really, does everybody that walks with me had to be considered my girl or something? It's starting to get rather annoying"_,the web-faced hero said.

The mischievous pinkette laughed, score one for her, _"Well, come on! We don't have all day and we still have to find Naruto!"_,she said.

Spiderman sighed and scratched his head while walking ahead, _"Alright, alright. Let's find that boyfriend of yours"_,he said lazily. Though, the playful tone behind it was evident.

In the end, Spiderman was being chased by a pink-haired, red-faced, steam-eared, angry kunoichi who let out a _"Shannaro"_ battle cry for every punch she tried to land on him.

If anything, yes, his trouble just doubled.

End of Chapter 17

**You know, this is harder than I thought.**

**I ended up writing this but not updating as soon as I can. This is also the several bunch of writing that ended up updated late, damn.**

**I hope you all forgive me. I'm stuck without no internet around… Anyway!  
>The name Cynthia O'Neil is completely fictious, as well as the fact that she is Sakura's guardian. Yeah, I know, I'm evil.<strong>

_**Jutsu Description:**_

_Ninpo: Chouju Giga_(Ninja Art: Great Beast Imitation)- Well, you know how Kisihimoto-san described it. A jutsu where the user uses a painting made of ink. What the user uses as the jutsu varies on what he painted. From little mice to gigantic dragons.

_Ninpo: Kagenui_(Ninja Art: Shadow Sewing)- One of the Nara clan's offensive shadow techniques. The jutsu transforms the user's shadow, which he or she was using, from a straight line made for capturing other shadow and ceases opponent's movement to several spear-like thorns that can do physical damage.


	19. Chapter 18

**Sometimes when I'm reading Naruto manga series I can't help but wonder if the two, Naruto and Sakura, are going to work out after all. Heck, a lot of fanfic had done NaruSaku some justice, but even more Naruto x other pairing are flowing in.**

**If I'm Kishimoto, I'll be tempted as hell to draw just what other fanfic writers wrote.  
>Onward to the next chapter!<strong>

**Disc,: I don't own Naruto or Spiderman. Neither two would wanted to be owned by some fanfic writer, now would they? Use logic, readers!**

**Chapter 18**

**New Team, New Members, Another Heck of a New Mission!**

Long story short, the terrified spider and the raging cherry blossom finally found their other teammate, the oblivious blonde fox.

Okay, I gotta lay off the nicknames.

Well, anyways. As Spiderman and Sakura finally found Naruto and practically drag-assed themselves to the meeting spot, several topics came into the talking, such as…

"_Any luck finding a new teammate guys?"_,Naruto asked.

"_We won't need one, Naruto. Lady Tsunade already assigned another guy to replace Sasuke's spot, and another to replace Kakashi-sensei's"_,Sakura explained. Problem was, Tsunade didn't give her any details regarding the new teammate. But why bother? They're going to meet him, or her, soon enough anyways.

"_Hmm… By the way, what did you do after that last meeting, Spiderman?"_,the curious blonde asked.

"_Looking for maps"_,the New Yorker said.

"_Maps?"_

"_Yeah. Sadly, my mentor didn't give any detail concerning the elemental nation. So it kinda surprise me when I bought a map with a Pangea-shaped continent on it"_,he complained.

"_Seriously? Wow, what a mentor that would be"_,his male companion said.  
><em>"Speaking of which, who IS your mentor, Spiderman? What's he like?"<em>,Sakura inquired.

As Spiderman readied to explain, he held his tongue. He suddenly remembered the possible fact that Madam Web was Sakura's guardian. He didn't understand, but he had this feeling in his gut that told him to ask her privately.

"_Umm, actually she's more of a she than a he. Practically, just your same old aged master that teaches you stuff"_,he said. Well, at least that's true.

"_Old? So we're all the same?"_,Naruto said.

Spiderman raised an eyebrow, _"Same?"_

"_Well, I was trained under Ero-sennin while Sakura-chan was trained by Tsunade-baachan. I guess you're just like us in a way"_,he said.

Spiderman noted that. Maybe this 'Ero-sennin' or as he translated it 'Pervy Sage' is the Jiraiya guy he read in Naruto's file.

'If so, then all three were under the tutelage of the three Sannin. Naruto under Jiraiya, Sakura under Tsunade, and Sasuke under Orochimaru',Spiderman thought.

After a moment, Naruto decidedly spoke up again, _"But you know, currently I'm quite pissed off"_

"_Because…?"_,Sakura said.

"_Well, a rather strange-looking guy attacked me, Shikamaru and Chouji before. And it really sucks since he got away"_,he muttered. Spiderman however, chuckled.

"_Well, I guess you got youself a fan, Naruto"_,he said playfully.

"_Say what? He tried to kill me with that weird jutsu of his!"_,Naruto exclaimed.

"_Or maybe he's just trying to leave an impression"_,Sakura suddenly suggested.

"_That doesn't make any sense, Sakura-chan!"_

"_Or maybe he's just another gay fanatic who has too many loan time"_,Spiderman added absent-mindedly.

In a flash, Naruto's thought became raced and he almost vomited. Though what his attacker commented about not having any… lower parts, DID sounded pretty gay.

"_No! Hell no!"_,Naruto yelled in fear.

Several minutes later, they're already near the meeting spot. The three of them then saw two person that was already waiting there.

The first person was wearing a standard chuunin vest and a long sleeve shirt. He also wore what every jounin wore, a standard issue black long trousers. The unique one was a steel plating one the edges of his face that had a Konoha symbol on the forehead part. Well, just your everyday Jounin.

The second one, however, had his clothes rather differently. He sported what seemed to be a short zip-up shirt. So short it not only gave sight of his abdomen, but the left arm part was sleeeveless. The pants were standard, and he brought a short wakizashi with him on his back.

That's not too surprising for Spiderman and Sakura. Naruto, however…

"_Ah! It's you!"_,he shouted angrily.

Both his friends look at him with a questioning glance.

The jounin then spoke up, _"Umm, starting today, I'm the jounin that's going to replace Kakashi-senpai as team captain until he recovers"_

The jounin must've thought Naruto was speaking to him, or so Spiderman thought.

Naruto was still giving an angry glare towards the other member, so now it's quite obvious who's he speaking to.

"_Oh, it's you. Sorry about before, I didn't mean to attack you all of the sudden. I was just curious to how strong you are"_,said member said, putting on a fake smile.

Naruto seemed a little calmed down, _"Well… if you say so…"_

But the smiling member was not finished, _"Because I have no idea how useless my teammates are"_,he said, still putting that fake smile on.

"_What did you say?"_,Naruto yelled. Okay, he did more than yelled. He tried to tackled the smiling bastard. If it wasn't for Sakura, maybe he already did.

"_Wait, Naruto! We're teammates now! Try to work together!"_,the pink-haired medic said frantically while pulling Naruto back, _"But hey, you're quite rude yourself, aren't you?"_

The member's seemingly never ending smile, which really irritated Spiderman, was still there as he said, _"Ah, I'm sorry. But you know, I quite like ugly girls like you"_

Now it's Sakura's turn to try and tackle the smiling guy, _"Huh? What did you say?"_,had the jounin didn't pull into action, said member would be having blue eyes.

"_Didn't you remember what you just said to Naruto?"_,he reminded, trying to restrain the raging kunoichi that is Sakura.

Spiderman watched the whole event and nagging thought in his mind, 'Please tell me I'm just in some Disneyland'

_Several moments (and more to calm Naruto and Sakura down) later…_

"_So, from here on out, we're the new team Kakashi. But what's this? We can't work together without even knowing about each other, you know. Come on, introduce yourselves"_,the jounin said, pushing his temple to relinquish his stress.

"_Uzumaki Naruto"_,Naruto said while scowling.

"_I'm Haruno Sakura"_,she was also scowling, but with an added vein on her forehead.

"_My name is Sai"_,the jerk said.

"_I'm Spiderman. How ya' doin'?"_,Spiderman said waving to no one in particular.

The jounin nodded in relief, _"Good. My name's Yamato and I'm your new team captain. After this, we'll meet up in front of Konoha's main gate to leave on our mission. Now go home and prepare your things and meet up two hours after this"_,he strictly said. The four nodded in unison.

After all of them parted, save for Naruto and his two friends who were going on together, they all walked home.

Naruto was the first to complain, _"Damn it, that Sai guy. He's a total jerk! Why did HE had to replace Sasuke?"_,he said, scowling.

Sakura had an understanding look on her face as Naruto complained, she then said, _"His mouth maybe sharp, but don't you see something in him that resembles Sasuke? His style or something?"_

"_Hah, he's nothing like Sasuke! Sasuke's much coole—umm, I mean much better!"_,Naruto said.

'If he's just as gay, I'm calling off this mission',Spiderman fearfully thought.

Sakura looked at Naruto and had an obvious smile that just said _'That's Naruto for you'_.  
><em>"Well, you're right. Sasuke IS a bit cooler than Sai"<em>,she said admittedly.

"_Not just a bit! He's MUCH better than that sharp-mouthed jerk!"_,the blonde amplified

Spiderman shook his head at the blonde and pinkkete's antics. Yeah, they're something else alright. _"Hey guys, I'm going to head home for a while. I'll see you two in the front gate, savvy?"_,he said.

"_Okay. Hurry up though, it's only two hours!"_,Sakura said waving as Spiderman waved the two back.

_In Spiderman's apartment…_

Right now, Spiderman was searching for the Avenger transmitter. But damn, why did the manufacturer had to make it so darn small?

To be exact, the transmitter was a small, baseball-sized yellow thingy with retractable antenna. He can't use normal cellphones. If his math was right, the same EMP jutsu this Rikudou Sennin used might've disrupt the phone signals. At least that explains why there are so many birds with what looked like a small tube flying about, he assumed they were messenger birds.

"_Okay. If I was a small transmitter thingy, where would I hide?"_

Be-beep, beep…

Two consecutive beeping sound alerted Spiderman of the transmitter's presence. He dug into the sheets of his bed. Jackpot.

'Found it!'

He pulled the transmitter out and looked at the yellow object, a red light flashing in sync with the beeping. He reviewed the screen for some minutes. Full battery; check, inbox's empty, and signal's…

The signal's pretty damn full, much to his surprise. After all, he took what Tsunade told him seriously. And he trusted her enough not to lie, 'Well, my cellphone has no signals. Wonder why…'

Shrugging the problem off, he began pressing several buttons. (Now mind you, the transmitter might look like an advanced Blackberry). Done typing, he laid the transmitter across him on the bed. He waited for several seconds, until the transmitter hummed.

"_It's alive! It's A-LLLIIIIVVEE!"_,he strangely said. He was really losing his mind, if playing a Frankenstein on a transmitter of all things isn't enough proof to that. But hey, it's not everyday you got teleported away to some strange lands with ninja to inhabit it.

Until then, he didn't know what to make of them. They don't look like the assasins he'd imagined them to be. Take a look at Naruto, he's so hyper that it's downright accusing the idea of ninjas itself. They didn't even look like the emotionless killing machine. Hanabi's a fiery spirit, whether she want to admit it or not, and that's not the type for killing manchines.

"So you called me to stare at you meditating?"

The sudden voice brought the masked hero out of his trance. He turned to the voice and was greeted with a bluish static hologram in the shape of his old friend.

"Well, I'm not the one with a piss-off attitude, Logan",he said with a grin.  
>Said man scowled deeper, keeping in mind to give his caller his fists later. "Quit the shit, bub. It's either to the point or I'm leavin'",Wolverine said with pure hatred.<p>

Well, if it's not pure hatred which you feel for the guy that wakes you up in freaking 3:00 a.m. (keep in account that Wolverine's in USA while Spiderman's in Japan), I don't know what's that emotion was supposed to be.

The ever cheery arachnid avenger grinned. After that, he switched to 'business mode', "Okay, Logan. I need you to do me a favor"

"Of what kind?",the feral man asked.

Spiderman's grin stretched even wider if possible as he said, "Is the X-jet operational?"

_With Naruto…_

Packing, Naruto figured out, is much harder than unloading his stuff. Took him nearly 30 minutes to finish. As he finished packing up, he bid goodbye to his unfinished pack of instant ramen and walked outside.

Before he walked out though, he noticed the glass of his photo frame flashed from the sunlight's contact. He stopped in his tracks and, sighing, he walked back to the desk he put his picture on. His TEAM's picture, to be exact. Tucking it back down in fear of a stray cat might knock it down, he silently vowed to himself…

'_This time, you're coming back to Konoha, Sasuke'_

As he got out, Naruto walked up the stairs to Spiderman's floor planning to pick him up. Just then, he caught a glimpse of a bluish hue from the weabhead's window. Curious, he sneaked up to his door intending to knock. That is, before another voice stopped him.

"Are you saying you'll be borrowing the X-jet as your personal sense of transportation to get back from wherever you are now? Bub, you know the jet's not your Monday morning's bus. And Storm's might keep asking me where her favorite ride go",the voice said from inside Spiderman's room.

At first, Naruto didn't understood what the voice was talking about. But then, his mind automatically translated the foreign language. That surely freaked him out. He'd never even heard this language before, though he understood that they're talking in English. But still, it feels weird to understand their language without learning it first.

The voice sounded angry, pissed off, and frustrated all in one mix, Naruto had thought. And what's this X-jet they're talking about?

"Aw, and Ororo's a sweet friend and she'll definitely have no problem lending me your jet. Not that you'll be using it often anyhow, right?",Spiderman pleaded, and Naruto could picture him giving a wide puppy-dog eyes doing so. He had to snicker, Spiderman's version of puppy-dog eyes might look like a wailing bulldog's.

"I'll ask her, alright. Sheesh, you gotta lay off that weak dog eyes. And you better not lose it when you're going back from Tonoha",the voice said, defeated.

Wait, it actually worked?  
>And what does the voice meant by 'going back'?<p>

"Konoha. And don't worry! I'll keep care of your big bird alright. I'll send the coordination straight to the X-jet, Wolverine. But don't check it, got it?",Spiderman said, suddenly serious.

Wolverine might've retorted at that, but he realized something from Spiderman's tone. The truth about Spiderman was, he'd prefer to call other heroes by their real names rather than their codenames when they're talking to each other. The fact that he called him by his codename Wolverine made Logan got on guard.

"Is someone there with you?",he said in a guarded tone.  
>"Don't worry, it's just my teammate. He's outside the door by now, not that it'll do any different though",Spiderman said, chuckling as he said so.<p>

Naruto's eyes widen in shock, when did he noticed his presence?

"Well, we're lucky that they're Japanese… otherwise they'd be spying on our every word right now",Wolverine said.  
>At this, Spiderman turned his head at his room's exit door and stared at it as he muttered, "Hmm… I wonder about that"<p>

Naruto felt as if Spiderman's stare bore through the door and into him. This is bad enough. Good thing Spiderman thought he didn't understand anything from his chat with the holographic form. He silently moved to a wall and leaned his back onto it, hoping it would give Spiderman a façade that he was waiting for him.

"Well, at least that's it for now. Hope you get the jet ready when I call!",Spiderman said, bidding farewell as he shut the transmitter off. It's faint, but he could hear his friend muttered something about incompetent bastards and useless favors as he did so.

He then picked up his black backpack and slung it over his shoulder as he walked out. Turning to close his door, a mass of yellow hair came into his view.

"_Naruto? Huh, here I thought I'm the one that's gonna pick you up"_,Spiderman said.

"_Heh! I'm not a slow-poke by all means!"_,Naruto grunted in annoyance from Spiderman's jibe.

Naruto's scowl slowly vanished and was switched by a curious frown. He carefully looked at Spiderman as he said, _"What were you doing in there? I saw a faint blue light from your window"_

Spiderman cocked his head to look at Naruto from behind his shoulder, _"Nah, just saying hello to my friend back in America. Nothing important"_,he said waving dismissively before continuing, _"Well? Come on, Naruto! It's high time we get to the gate!"_

Naruto blinked as if he just snapped out of a trance. He absentmindedly nodded while having a thought himself.

'_He's hiding the fact that he had just talked about something important. All the things about going back and a jet… What's he hiding?'_,he silently thought as he followed Spiderman.

_At the gate…_

"_Maa, they're late! Where are they, anyway? Sheesh"_,a pink-haired medic groaned, gaining a sigh from her captain and an indifferent glance from her new teammate.

Several fast footsteps was the answer to that, followed by two fastly approaching figures. Sakura exhaled as her shoulders slumped as her stress relieved, _"Speak of the devil. What took you two so long? And don't try to pull a Kakashi on me Naruto, I know when you're lying"_,she said while adding a bit of malevolence at the end of her sentence. Naaruto, who was planning to actually pull Kakashi's lame excuses as defense had to retake his action.

Fortunately, Sakura hasn't known Spiderman for too long to know when he's lying. And the webheaded hero intended to use that loophole to it's fullest extent. And note this; nothing is good when Spiderman uses anything to it's full extent. As if his black suit haven't prove it already…

"_Aaah, sorry Sakura. You gotta let this one slide though. You see, we've got a slight problem when we got out of the apartment"_,Spiderman said, giving out his most believeable, non-humor tone.

Sakura, believe it or not, bought it, _"Really? What happened?"_

Spiderman proceeded to tell his lie, _"Well, do you know about the many pipes that ran along Naruto and my apartment building's walls?"_, Sakura nodded, _"One of them that lead to each unit's septic tank broke, and it just so happened that the pipe broke in front of Naruto's unit. So we had a hard time clearing out all the shitpile from the floor and doors. Even until now, the smell might not be so invisible to the nose"_

Sakura cringed, Yamato flinched, Naruto looked scandalized, even the emotionless Sai looked a tidzy bit mortified. Each of their facial changes only served to make Spiderman's grin stretch wider, though not wide enough to give hint that he's grinning under his mask.

Sakura turned her disgusted gaze towards Naruto, who immediately flinched under her intense look. _"Don't answer, I could've understand if THAT was your problem"_,she said, still somewhat scared.

Naruto looked at Spiderman with intense fury in his eyes, then he sneaked up to him and whispered, _"What the hell? Because of you she would at least two clicks away from my apartment! Can't you at least think before you lie about something like that?"_

Spiderman shrugged as he whispered back silently, _"At least I saved your ass. She's not lying when she said she could know when you're lying"_

The scowl never left Naruto's face, just as Sakura's slightly disbelieving look didn't, and just as Sai's painfully fake smile sure didn't.

Decidedly, their captain put an end to the uncomfortable silence, _"Well, if we are all ready, I assume it's time we depart"_,he said.

"_Right!"_

And so, the five of them depart…

End of Chapter 18

**Ahaaa, another chapter wrapped up! And note that this chapter is still one of the writings that I had some trouble updating. You know, since I got so little internet service to none, it's gotten really troublesome to keep updating day after day. Hope that's okay, though…**

**Anyway, how's the story so far? I can't judge it myself, but I hope the fact that I just added Naruto's ability to understand English so fast wasn't so unbelieveable. Don't worry, that'll be clarified in later chapters.**

**No, seriously. How did I do? I need to know whether or not the story's going good all the way cuz, I'm pretty much thinking of ending the story soon.**

**I know, I know! It's an utter outrage… That's why I need to know whether or not the story is worth continuing. I am, after all, planning to make it a trilogy. Okay, then enough dawdling!**

**R&R folks!**


	20. Chapter 19

**Yoo, guys! Well, no more tiddle dawdle. Let's just start this thing!**

**AN: Rewritten! I accidentally wrote some errors or such and I am so very sorry about that. If it's not too much to ask, can you guys and girls complain in the review if you come across some trivial errors through the text? I'll be grateful!**

**Chapter 19**

**Not the Same Anymore**

It's been quite a while that the five-man team had ran and jumped from trees to trees. At first, it slightly surprised Spiderman at how they were able to maneuver from tree branch to tree branch while going at a pace even he had a hard time catching up.

Sakura had said that they had used chakra for a burst of acceleration while jumping like this. Spiderman had noted that while he can use jutsus easily, his chakra control is still inferior to several other chuunin ninjas. And since Spiderman was planning on saving his chakra, he decided to use the move he hadn't used in a while now.

A little finger folding here, a shot of web there, and, _"Voila! The webslinger is back!"_,came a yell of excitement from below. Or was it from above?

The other four didn't know how, but it just seem to them that Spiderman had made his last jump short and fell downwards, until a twiphing sound was heard and he suddenly swung himself upwards. Sakura gaped, this is the move she, Naruto and Ino had seen when Spiderman was saving Hiro's female mental victim before!

Naruto stared in shock, until he laughed merrily, _"THAT is why he's called Spiderman!"_

It was quite the skill, Yamato had thought. To actually use a webline to swing while in a tight terrain like this, where trees are everywhere, and still he swings without crashing into any of the trees.

(Note: That may look like a dead giveaway of George of the Jungle)

But after a short moment, the area changed into a wide clearing with a main street visible. _"All right. Everyone! Let's walk from here on out!"_,the team captain ordered. Spiderman visibly pouted, his chance of having fun with his webslinging had ended just like that? Curse the trees and their bad timing.

The rest was pretty much grateful, though. They're a bit exhausted from all the jumping and they could use some time to catch their breath. Well, all of them but Naruto and Spiderman, though.

It's not like they could do anything, those stamina freaks.

Taking the walk anyway, Naruto took the opportunity to narrow his eye to look at Sai at a more detailed vision. Remembering what Sakura had said about Sai, he had to admit one thing. The new guy's look's somewhat looked like Sasuke's, minus the chicken-ass hairstyle. His sound also sounded rather identical.

Sai noticed Naruto staring at him, so he chose to give a response, _"What is it?"_

'_His attitude from before also proves that he might be the same ass as Sasuke was'_,Naruto noted mentally. Sai continued to look at him until he turned his head back to his earlier position and said, _"Quit staring me like that. I might just hit you"_, while giving a slight fake smile.

Naruto gave an angry and somewhat comical, white-eyed face while pumping his fist in front of him, _"You're looking for a fight?"_

"_No, definitely not"_

"_Liar!"_

"_I'm just simply trying to build some character, if anything"_,the ANBU member said, pasting that fake smile as if it's the most normal thing to do.

"_Shut up! Don't lie to me!"_,by now, Naruto was already turning his body facing Sai and practically yelled at him rather than talking.

"_You really can't! Just as I thought, it's not the same with you!"_,Naruto said pointing at Sai.

The squabble had seemed to catch Yamato's attention, as he turned back and leveled a hard look towards Naruto, _"Naruto, that's enough. Is that how you should act in front of your team leader? Hasn't Kakashi-senpai taught you about teamwork? And here I thought you came from Team Kakashi"_. Naruto scowled and looked back at Yamato with his anger still in his eyes.

"_It's because he's not part of Team Kakashi! The other member in the original Team Kakashi… is Sasuke!"_,he yelled with rage. Spiderman looked at him while bearing a squinted eye of worry behind his mask. Sasuke's a hard topic for both Naruto and Sakura, he wonders if this'll turn out okay in the end.

Naruto eyed Sai from the corner of his eyes, _"He is… he's just a replacement for Sasuke. And I won't acknowledge someone that hasn't even been there since the start!"_. From the hard words, Spiderman half-hoped that the anti-emotion ninja he was aquainted with would show at least a slight frown. His hope was shot down, however, as what he saw was unbelievingly a smile.

"_That's alright. I wasn't hoping for you to acknowledge me as the same guy as he was"_,Sai said.

Naruto looked taken aback by the statement. Sai still smiled as he continued, _"I don't want to be acknowledged as someone who betrayed the village. Who runs off to Orochimaru in search of useless power"_. Spiderman was, for the better of the description, stunned. It's either he is a very good actor or this Sai guy really has no emotions. The guy doesn't even glare at Naruto, let alone scowled at him. The only thing visible on his face was that too-good-too-blank smile. And Naruto had his frown deepened and his glare intensified.

"_I really don't want to be acknowledge as the same guy who's a pathetic loser, who is no different from that Orochimaru"_,he finished. Naruto's eye is filled with so much anger that if looks could kill, Sai would've been already strapped onto a crucifix which wrote: _'Here lies Sai, the sharp-mouthed bastard. Died by a glare. May he rest in peace'_.

"_You…"_

Naruto's step forward was halted by Sakura, who held out her hand in front of his face to stop his advance. She looked sadly at Naruto before turning her eyes to Sai, _"Teamwork IS important"_,she said, more to the boy behind her rather than the one in front of her.

"_Sai, Naruto hasn't known you for too long. So he hasn't got too comfortable with you. Please forgive him"_,she said sincerely. Spiderman's eyes narrowed at Sakura's choice of action, which was really suspicious. It can't be that she's…

"_*sigh* Good thing we still have one good teammate here"_,Yamato sighed.

"_Sakura-chan…"_,Naruto breathed. Frankly, he didn't really liked the idea of Sakura having to apologize for him. It didn't help that the bastard that she's trying to apologize to just mocked Sasuke in front of them. If anything, by his account Sai is the one that should've be sorry.

And yet there he is, smiling as Sakura just apologized to him for his own action, _"I didn't take it to heart, so it's okay"_

Sakura's smile seemed somewhat relieved. _"Is that so? I'm glad"_,she said.

Spiderman's senses rang and he looked towards his pink-haired teammate to see her giving Sai a devastating right hook to the face. The smiles gone from her face, replaced with a furious frown. Yamato's eyes widen in shock, even Naruto looked slightly taken aback by Sakura's reaction. Spiderman chose to act unphased and tugged his hands into his pockets, although his fists are twitching strangely.

"_You don't have to forgive me for that"_,she said, her voice dangerously dripping with malevolence.

Sai sat up from his sudden knockback and scrubbed the blood that's coming out of his lips. And, yes, even then he still had that deceiving smile of his.

"_You don't even know Sasuke-kun yourself, do you? Next time when I hear you talk bad about Sasuke-kun like that again, I won't hold back!"_,she threatened.

"_Smiles can be used like that too, huh? I'll keep that in mind"_,the ANBU member said monotously. While he'd never admit it out loud, well, he can't even admit it to himself, that punch did hurt. It was only thanks to his state of no emotion that his body allowed him to smile.

"_Why do you smile even when you've got punched like that?"_,Naruto demanded.

Spiderman stayed silent the whole time, though his was going on thinking of how much did the punch hurt him on the face.

"_Smiles can be used to fool those around us, even though it's a fake one. I read that in a book. But, it seems no matter how much I smile, I'm still quite hated by other people"_,Sai said, standing up slowly. Naruto and Sakura's infuriated look didn't seem to bother him the slightest.

It was then Spiderman noticed that Yamato had his hand in a handseal, _"Mokuton: Shichurou no Jutsu _(Wood Style: Four Pillar Prison Jutsu)_"_,he muttered. Instantly, a cuboid-shaped, cage-like wooden prison rose up from the ground.

Naruto flinched at the sudden appearance of the wood prison, Sai spared it a neutral glance, but Sakura looked shocked more than anything.

"_You guys, if you don't behave I would really need to put all of you in a cage"_,Yamato said, closing his eyes in hidden frustration.

'_This is… the Shodaime Hokage's kekkei genkai ninjutsu! The Wood Style! How can Yamato-taichou do this jutsu?'_,Sakura thought. She never heard about the First having any kids, and neither did she with the Niidaime, who is the First Hokage's only sibling.

'_Just who is this guy?'_

"_Listen up! I'll give you options. One, you'll be set here in the cage to make up for your earlier squabbling for the rest of the day. Or we could stay at a nearby motel with an onsen"_,he said, giving out a rather one-sided option. Well, according to the others, of course.

"_I don't really know about you all, but you certainly don't know anything about me. Honestly, I don't like pushing people around. But I don't really hate controlling people using terror"_,as he said that, an ominous dark aura lurked out from Yamato. And his eyes also widen at a frighteningly wide perimeter, giving out what he meant when he said 'terror'.

Needless to say, Naruto and Sakura broke into cold sweat. Only two out of four that stayed calm, and only one out of that two to say anything about it.

"_Err, I don't really mind dipping myself in a hot spring, but can you please turn off that scary God of Terror vision? I feel like I could get nightmares"_,Spiderman said, shrugging.

As a response, Yamato DID turned off his terror vision. He smiled slightly and turned to look at all of them, _"Then shall we get going?"_

All of them complied by walking on, the idea of a motel with a hotspring driving them forward. Obviously, all of them were tired after the long run, though one didn't actually express it.

In Naruto's case, he just didn't want to look at another terror vision for disobeying orders.

As the four of them walked on, Yamato closed in on Spiderman and signaled him to come closer. Shrugging yet again, the webhead moved silently as not to alert the other three, _"Something else, taichou?"_

Yamato sighed, _"Out of the two of them, you're the one that seems to be keeping your cool. I assume you can talk to them about before and help them to make up"_

Yamato's reffering to the mouthing contest from before, Spiderman had thought. The answer to that was a chuckle from Spiderman, _"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Though, the compliment's not mine as I'm just as agitated as they are"_,he said.

At Yamato's look of puzzlement, Spiderman pulled out his hands from his pocket to reveal his fists. Only thing was, the fists part of the costume he wore had already turned black.

"_Like I said. Just as agitated"_

A sigh from Yamato came as the answer from Spiderman's antics.

_The Onsen Motel…_

Three persons dipped themselves into the steaming water of the hot springs, giving them a sense of relief and a deep _"Aaaahh"_ from the three of them.

In his case, Naruto sunk himself nose deep. Relinquishing all the stress IS the first use of every hot springs, but he can't help but warily glance at his team captain as he is his subject of fear and terror. Heck, he'd bet even Zabuza would piss his pants with this guy around.

"_Well, you know what they say! Guys can only acknowledge each other when they're together naked and dipped in a hot spring, right?"_,Yamato said, his terrorizing demeanor disappeared and now he's just as cheery as ever. Unfortunately, realizing his earlier statement left unresponsed, his terror vision came again and he stared at Naruto.

"_I said, right guys?"_,he said in an eerily frightening tone.

Naruto stood up, though he almost jumped, in fear, _"R-right!"_

Sai turned his eyes to Naruto and then he closed his eyes as he smiled fakely yet again, _"Oh, so you DO have a dick, huh?"_. Naruto glared in a comical white-eyed style and yelled at the top of his lungs, _"Shut up! You don't go talk about men's vital parts so leisurely if you're a normal person!"_

But the only detail he left out, was that his voice carried away to the women section of the hot springs, which was only a wall away, and all women laughed and giggled as a reaction.

Well, all women but one.

Sakura mentally cursed her blonde loudmouth of a teammate for having such a loud voice. Good thing the other women doesn't know that she's familiar with the boy that had yelled 'man's vital parts' with all the air in his lungs. Otherwise, she'd die of embaressment.

'_My teammate's an idiot'_,she thought as she face-palmed.

Naruto, hearing the laughter of the many females from the other side, grinned playfully as his perverted side took over. No, don't get him wrong. He's not doing this on purpose. Travelling with the greatest perv of all did do something to his once innocent psyche.

He sunk himself back into the water and silently approached the wooden wall, deciding to try his luck. By this time, Yamato had already got out of the water and pulled a dry towel around. Noticing Naruto's approach to the wall, he decided to humor the boy a bit.

"_I'm done for now. But before I go, Naruto I have a story for you"_,he said. As a result, Naruto halted his stealth approach and looked back to Yamato. _"Jiraiya-sama had almost died one time. That time, Lady Tsunade broke six ribs, an arm and slightly damaged his spine with her humongous strength. The reason was because he did exactly what you were trying to do just now… Now, I wonder. What about Sakura?"_

Naruto instantly paled and broke off in cold sweat. Wait, cold? Or was it hot? He can't feel it right because of the steaming water he was in but he didn't actually care. The image of Sakura catching him peeping and launched a monster-powered fist to his gut was enough diversion for him to ignore the temperature.

Satisfied by his mental handiwork, Yamato trudged to the exit door. Only to have another figure burst right through the opened sliding door with a towel. _"Maa, I've never tried a hot spring before. But I see no difference from a swimming pool, so, COWABUNGA!"_,the figure said, jumping high in the air as he said the last part and curling his body to make a ball-shape.

The landing was pretty much…wet and devastating. It was forceful enough to throw away a considerable portion of the _onsen_ water out of the way. Sai had his face remained neutral as Yamato sighed and turned to leave. Naruto had his face splashed by steaming water and now his face is bright red from the intense heat.

The figure resurfaced, revealing a red masked face. _"Aaah, the pleasure of the Eastern waters~…"_,Spiderman said lazily. He was about to try to float while his back is on the water and relax before Naruto's pissed off glaze caught his attention, _"What up, Naruto?"_

Naruto grinded his teeth in anger so hard it's actually hearable, _"'What up' my ass! What the hell? You don't just go cannonballing into a hot spring! And for Kami's sake take of that mask when you're in here"_. Spiderman's head tilted to the side, _"Really? Well I thought it was fun. And don't think I'll let you sneak a peek just because it's a hot spring"_

The bickering would've continued had the women next wall not exclaimed, _"Hey, girls! I think it's raining! Let's get inside before it gets heavier!"_. Several sounds of agreement was the answer, and Naruto could hear the sound of waters splashing, obviously the sound of the females moving to get out of the water.

A light bulb appeared on Naruto's head as his idea of mischief revealed itself in his mind. His devious grin was plastered there as he turned to Spiderman, _"Do it again and I'll deem it fun"_,he said.

The tip of where his mouth should be widen as Spiderman nodded and got out of the water, as did Naruto, leaving them naked without any clothing, except for Spiderman's mask. Sai had to admit, he was wrong to think both of them dickless.

"_Ready…"_,Naruto said.  
><em>"Set…"<em>,Spiderman replied.  
><em>"Go! Konoha Ogi, Suiton: Taki no Taihou<em> (Leaf Secret Technique, Water Style: Waterfall Great Cannon)_!"_,together they declared their makeshift jutsu and they ran in opposite direction towards the opposite edges of the hot spring.

Once they reached their designated spots, they jumped high in the air and yelled like no tomorrow. _"GERONIMO!"_, Spiderman yelled.

Not one to understand who the heck was Geronimo, but also not one to go down without a fight, Naruto yelled out his own cry, _"KISHIMOTO!"_

They both plunged into the water at the same time, resulting in a burst of water from the center of the spring. The burst gradually became bigger and it showered into the women section, resulting in several cries of surprise.

Sakura was now steaming red because both of her friend's action. _'Scratch that. My teammates are complete idiots'_,she thought, mentally crying anime tears of utter embaressment.

Sai was already out of the water by the time the two idiots began their useless jutsu. Heading off silently towards the door, he grabbed a towel and enveloped his waist down with it.

As Spiderman and Naruto resurfaced from the water, or lack thereof, Spiderman spared the blonde a questioning look_. "Who's Kishimoto?"_,he asked.

Naruto shrugged, _"That's the first name I came up with. Just random, I guess"_

A moment of tranquility, and the two bursted out laughing from their successful prank. It's been a while Naruto had ever pranked anyone, and Spiderman had always thought about how it would felt to be the one pranking others. The result? Utter satisfication.

_Moments after that…_

After they had enough of laughing, both pranksters made their way to the restrooms to change their clothes into a gray kimono set served by the motel. As they picked up the set and walked to the restrooms, they bumped into Sai who had finished changing. He informed them that Yamato-taichou was already waiting in their reserved room. They nodded and he left after silently excusing himself.

"_You know, I could never understand that guy. He could be a nice guy instantly after being an asshole"_,Naruto muttered. Spiderman spared him a glance while starting to get into his web-motived tights, _"You can't really blame him. A lot of guys are controversial like that"_

Naruto got into his kimono set and rolled the sleeves up to his shoulders, _"Heh, guess you're right"_

When they both had came out of the restrooms, they reached the room they're staying in. Sai was waiting for them, as well as Sakura who was in front of the door greeting them with a seething glare both men had to back off from. In the end, she pouted after Naruto mouthed his apology.

Naruto opened the sliding door and was grateful he did, for he soon was greeted by the sight of the foods the reservation had. _"Wow, it looks tasty!"_,Naruto grinned as he took in a deep breath savoring the smell of the foods.

Sakura looked genuinely happy herself, Sai just smile anyway and Spiderman wasted no time to sit himself on one of the sitting pillows. Yamato was already there, waiting patiently even though heavenly foods were set in front of him.

"_Itadakimasu!"_,they all chorused.

Naruto immediately reached out for the nearest food to him, which seemed to be a red crab. Sakura took a type of boiled fish which tasted pretty good. Sai was at least a bit picky on his choice of food, until his chopsticks hovered on an open-shelled lobster. He took an experimental bite from the meat, and though the smile on his face might be fake, it was enough to compliment the chef.

Yamato just took in some food randomly. Shrugging, Spiderman finally looked for his target to eat and his eyes fell on a particular plate, no doubt his favorite of all because he muttered, _"Must…have…salmon…sashimi!"_

He reached out for the plate and brought it back to his front. Then he slightly peeled his mask until his mouth was visible, just like when he ate in Ichiraku Ramen.

He took in a whole bite of the sashimi, and his shoulders slumped in relaxation, _"Mmm, fresh seafood after a warm bath. Nothing beats that"_

"_Well said!"_,Naruto said, struggling to crack open the upper shell of his crab. Growling in annoyance of the hardness of the shell, he considered using a Rasengan to open it.

_Several minutes later…_

"_Aaah, I'm full!"_,a happy Naruto exclaimed, tapping his stomach in satisfication.

"_Gotsuzosama!"_,Sakura thanked.  
>Sai had a fake satisfied smile, well go figure, while Yamato was drinking his cup of green tea. Spiderman had had enough of the sashimi, and he suddenly felt his stomach churn. 'No…is it the seafood? Sashimi, you've betrayed me!',he thought, mentally raising his fist in anger towards the skies.<p>

"_I, uhh, I gotta excuse myself outta here"_,he muttered as he got up, opened the sliding door, and instantly ran to the nearest toilet.

It took a while for Naruto and Sakura to comprehend what just happened, before they two laughed out loud. Sai and Yamato didn't because Sai is, obviously emotionless, while Yamato was too busy gulping from his cup to actually look at the comedical scene.

Spiderman was struggling to hold his 'sashimi blast' inside for the toilet has someone occupying it, 'Of all time, Lady Luck picked now to put her wrath on me? Damn it!'

Both Naruto and Sakura regained their breath from the laughter they just had. _"I, *pfft*, my sides are splitting"_,Naruto muttered from the floor, obviously because he just rolled on the floor laughing before. Yamato took a second to analyze the situation before dismissing it and turned his head towards the three of his subordinates.

"_All right, guys. We gotta sleep early tonight so we can catch up our march next morning. So, go to your rooms now"_,he ordered. The three nodded, all of them tired from the journey.

Naruto is, most unfortunately, in the same room with Sai. Sakura had her own room while Yamato had his own as well. Spiderman actually had his own room too, but for now…

For now, he just had to concentrate on flushing the toilet after every one of his 'sashimi blast' went down.

_Next morning…_

In truth, the webheaded hero got less to none of sleep that night. He didn't sleep soundly in fear that he'll be shitting his futon if he did. Rubbing his sore eyes, he got up and stretched his back, hearing popping sounds of muscle soreness.

'**Humans…defeated by their own food. How pathetic'**,Raibi muttered.  
>'Shut up. You're just pissed off 'cuz the only thing you saw last night was the white walls of the toilet',Spiderman shot back mentally. He sighed before thinking, 'I guess it's the karma for making fun of Naruto's apartment'<p>

Deciding to get up and go out for a while, he rapidly folded his futon and got out from the window and climbed up the wall to the roof. _"Well, we got a lot of time before we set out. I guess I'll start some training"_,he said to himself.

Meanwhile, Sakura had just woken up from her deep slumber. She groaned as she stretched her back up, _"I had a good sleep"_,she said to herself. Sakura then searched for her clothes and got into the restroom to change.

On her way back to her room, though, she saw Sai setting out to the higher ground near a pond and several trees from the forest. _'Sai? What's he doing there?'_,she thought curiously.

After a quick change of clothes, she walked out of the room to the place she last saw Sai. As Sakura got there, she walked up behind him silently. _"Oh, so you can paint, too?"_

Sai turned his head to see Sakura standing behind him. _"What is it?"_,he asked.

Sakura ignored the question and walked up to him and look at the painting her teammate just drew, and then she said smiling, _"You got a sharp mouth, but you can draw things like this, huh? I'm surprised"_

Sai flashed his fake smile back, _"That smile… are you still unsatisfied from punching my face?"_

The sincere smile on Sakura's face turned into a devious smirk for a second, _"A bit"_,she said, before returning to the smile she held just a second ago.

"_I'm just kidding. I went up here to see what were you doing"_,she said again.  
><em>"Oh"<em>,the pale boy said.

Sakura then looked at the unfinished painting in Sai's hand before continuing, _"I thought you're doing a scenery painting since you were sitting here. Is this an abstract painting?"_

"_Yeah"_,Sai said, holding his canvas out for her to see.

"_Have you named it?"_,Sakura asked.  
><em>"There's no need for such thing"<em>,cam the reply from him.

At Sakura's puzzled look, Sai said nothing, opting to hear her question out loud.

"_But every painting's got a name. A painting of a person usually had his or her name on it"_,she said.  
>Sai looked back at his unfinished painting, <em>"That may be the case. But to be honest, I haven't thought of the name for this one. I've made so much, but none of them I had ever named. I think it's because I don't have the right feeling to pick a name for it"<em>,he explained.

Sakura's eyes soften a bit as he said so, who would've thought someone so emotionless was actually capable of doing such things such as painting. Sadly, he lacked the emotions to give a name for his art.

"_Maybe that's why you could say something heartless without any sense of feeling"_,Naruto said, suddenly coming up from behind them with a scowl on his face.

Sakura and Sai looked up to see him as he continued, _"Yamato-taichou called me to get you two prepared. We're leaving"_. It's either he woke up with a bucket of water to his face or he's just having a bad mood. Either way, Naruto was not having his nice morning.

He walked up to take a peek at Sai's painting, before muttering, _"Tch, it's nothing special"_

"_Right, just like your penis right?"_,Sai said back.

Taken aback and rendered speechless, Naruto grinded his teeth as his eyes began to blank in anger. Sakura, on the other hand, merely sweatdropped.

"_Look, if you have a problem with me then you better say it! I'll fight anytime!"_,he yelled pointing his finger to the emotionless ninja.

Sai's fake smile faltered a bit. But as quickly as it disappeared, it returned. _"It's nothing like that. Honestly, I have nothing against you"_,he said. He said nothing else even though Naruto's disbelieving stare didn't approve his statement.

"_You two can go on ahead. I'll catch up after I take my things"_,the painter said. Thinking that he's behaving quite well for today, Sakura bent forward to help Sai picking up his things. _"I'll help"_,she said.

As she picked up some stuffs, she caught a sight f a small book. Must be a drawing book, judgjing by the drawn picture in front of it, _"This is… you draw this, too?"_

Sai looked slightly shocked, even though his emotionless mask hid it as he reached out to grab it, _"Yeah"_

"_Hee~, a drawn story book, huh?"_,Sakura said with a curiosity filled tone. _"Umm… can I borrow it when we're walking?"_,she asked hopefully.

"_No, It's not finished yet"_,came the negative reply. Sakura had her hopes shot down, that is until Sai continued, _"Also, I can't lend this to anyone. It's my brother's"_.

At this, even Naruto raised an eyebrow hearing Sai mentioned his brother. But that curiosity was cut short after the next seconds.

Sakura caught the sound of whizzing air and looked up to see a figure overshadowing the sun. She heard something that could be described as, _"What is that? It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a flying monkey! Hell no, it's a flying human spider!"_, before said figure crashed to the ground bringing dusts everywhere.

The three coughed loudly before looking at the figure's landing site, revealing a quivering and trembling Spiderman in a sumo position.

"_What the hell! Stop using grand entrances like that and just walk in like a normal people would you?"_,Naruto yelled pointing at Spiderman. Who, oddly enough, was still silent.

At Sakura's closer inspection on Spiderman's mask, she could see some lines which could be described as furrowed eyebrows, a clamping mouth, and a popping vein on his head. Spiderman groaned a bit before muttering, _"Ouch"_

All of them, including Yamato who was waiting behind a tree, sweatdropped at the stupidity of Spiderman's act.

_A while after that…_

The journey continued. It started as a casual walk to out of the range of the hot springs motel. After a while, Yamato increased his pace, and so did the other three. At the sight of forest trees, Spiderman smirked and continued his previous day's webslinging. In a sense, he actually conserved more chakra by doing so, since his web lines comes from his natural powers. The others, though were using chakra, weren't really exhausted to be exact.

That wasn't too surprising for Spiderman. What DID surprised him was when the other four jumped off the trees and going for a river. _"Oi, what the—"_,Spiderman's warnings came off uncompleted as they began walking on the water. THAT shocked him, and almost made him crash into a tree.

"_Hey, how did you do it?"_,he yelled loud enough to catch Naruto's attention. Said blonde kept running while glancing to the side to Spiderman. _"It's just water walking. Why?"_,he asked as if what's he doing was the most normal thing to do.

"_Why? WHY? You're freakin' walking on a freakin' water!"_,Spiderman said, shooting another webline to swing with.

"_Yeah? Well you're shooting weblines from your hands!"_,Naruto shot back. In truth, he was still bewildered by Spiderman's ability to shoot webs from his hands. Or wrists, last time he saw it.

The bickering began to tune out several minutes later as the sun began to set. But mind you, they left at noon, so they continued to bicker for what could be counted as 6 hours straight. And no, it's not just about the water-walking or the webline-shooting. In the last minutes, it turned into a mouthing contest between the two.

Well, at least it's better than an uncomfortable silence.

"_Now here's a good place. Mokuton: Shichuka no Jutsu_ (Wood Style: Four Pillar House Jutsu)_!"_,Yamato said after making a handseal. A wooden building erupted in front of them and the four subordinates had to shield their eyes from the oncoming pebbles.

As they looked up, they can see Yamato sitting on the roof waving to them. _"Tonight we'll camp here"_

"_This hardly could be counted as CAMPING"_,Sakura sweatdropped.

As they settled in and picked their respective corners, well Spiderman got the center point; which he was grateful enough for, Yamato called them and gathered around the center.

"_So, I want to talk about this mission. If I'm not mistaken, Hokage-sama said that we're about to rendezvous with an Akatsuki spy, correct?"_,nods from the four of them was the answer. Sakura was the first to speak up. _"The spy should've been working under Akasuna no Sasori, or so he had said before"_

"_Yeah. I also got that detail. That's why I need to ask you something, Sakura"_,the brown-haired elder said. Sakura looked up as her captain began explaining, _"I've been thinking on how we should do this. And the first thing I come up with was that I should go under cover as Sasori. Sakura, you're the one that had fought him firsthand. Is there any detail that he usually did? A habit of some kind?"_

Spiderman had to keep from whistling in pride. He had no idea what's this Akatsuki was, but they seem the kind of the bad-ass ninjas. And Sakura kicking one of the member's ass seems more than a normal job.

"_I had an idea about how he talks. But actually I'm more concerned about the spy himself. Because there's already a spy in Sunagakure that we've disposed of before named Yura, and he's the village's council member"_,she explained.

"_Whoever the spy is, he might have extraordinary abilities. We can't underestimate him"_,Sai added in.

"_Then let's do it"_,Naruto said.

Yamato nodded, and continued his planning, _"In the presence of the enemy, a fight might ensue. And I've divided us into three teams. Naruto with Sai, and me with Sakura, while Spiderman goes alone"_

Sakura seemed about to protest about that,_ "But taichou, me and Naruto have been in the same team for a long time. Isn't it better if I go with Naruto?"_,she said. Spiderman raised an eyebrow in curiosity before lowering it down silently.

"_Sakura, you're the only medic in our team. It's better if I were to keep you safe"_,the jounin reasoned. Spiderman inwardly snickered, 'Naruto might be more able to keep her safe',he thought.

Naruto looked at Sai who flashed that irritatingly fake smile, _"Hope we can cooperate"_

Naruto narrowed his eyes before turning to Yamato while still pointing at Sai, _"Yamato-taichou! Why am I stuck with him?"_

Terror vision, on, _"What?"_

Cold sweat broken, Naruto immediately had no problem with the team arrangements.

Spiderman cleared his throat to regain the others' attention, _"Yamato-taichou. What should I do if I'm alone?" _

"_For you, Spiderman, I need you to help me in case I need to corner the spy. You'll wait under the bridge. When I give you the signal, I want you to cut the spy's escape route from the back. We're going to use a pincer formation"_,Yamato explained. Spiderman nodded, agreeing with Yamato's strategy. Well, it's pretty effective if you want to capture the spy.

The team captain then turned to Naruto and Sai, _"The team formation wouldn't actually be necessary unless a conflict ensues. But I need to know your abilities, so next morning we'll do a round to test your skills and teamwork"_. Both nodded in reply, so Yamato ordered all of them to go to sleep. Tomorrow would be a long day.

_Next morning…_

Naruto and Sai jumped high in the air and charged at Yamato, who was holding himself in a defensive stature. Both ninjas launched corresponding kicks and punches, slightly pushing their taichou back. _"Put some back into it!"_,Yamato taunted. As he finished saying that, Sai launched another side kick, but Yamato caught a glimpse of Naruto making a Rasengan on Sai's right hand.

Okay, that's suspicious enough. The jounin then made a handseal and then, several thick tree branches snaked up Sai's arm and legs. Sai poofed and revealed a struggling Naruto, or his clone to be exact. Apparently, Yamato's jutsu caught him by surprise and thus, his concentration on the henge fell, revealing another Naruto.

The real Naruto somersaulted from above his clone and lunged at Yamato, crashing him down. _"I won't let go!"_,he said while grappling his taichou's vest.

By now, Sai had already drawn an ink snake on his scroll. He's safely hidden behind the many trees that surrounded the place the training commenced. _"Ninpo: ChoujuGiga"_,he muttered as lowly as possible. The ink snake slithered out of the scroll and made it's way towards Yamato and Naruto. Once there, it encircled both Naruto and Yamato, constricting them and rendered their movements useless. Naruto was a bit shocked to see Sai's jutsu also trapped him.

What made matters worse was that he wasn't holding Yamato anymore. Rather, a wooden version of him as a kawarimi. _"Hey, Sai! Let go!"_,he yelled, hoping that his emotionless teammate would hear his voice. In truth, Sai ignred him altogether and jumped away, having found his captain hiding.

"_Hey Sai! You better got a good explanation for this!"_,Naruto yelled threateningly while he had a rather comical look on his face.

_Elsewhere…_

BOOM!

The booming sound echoed for several meters away as a big-sized boulder was blasted away, courtesy of Spiderman's new jutsu.

Yamato had made it clear that he, Naruto and Sai were going to have a training session to find out the loopholes in their teamwork. The bug-bitten hero, ever the impulsive one, can't just stand there and do nothing while they all train.

Instead, he took the time to train himself. Testing out his new jutsu, the Rasraichi, was one of his plan of training.

"_Damn. My Rasraichi's still weak"_,he muttered. Before this last boulder, he had already blasted several others away. Now, several broken pieces of stone could be seen everywhere. Also, he had take account that his Rasraichi is still inferior to Naruto's Rasengan. Not on the term of power of course, since they cancelled each other out in the Chuunin exams when they both used their jutsus. It's more like he's inferior in… effectiveness.

In truth, he had to use more of Raibi's chakra than his own just to use a normal Rasraichi. And by using Raibi's chakra, he drains himself moreso than when he used his own chakra. While it's true Naruto called upon Kyuubi's chakra when he used Tatsumaki Rasengan in the Chuunin exams, the fact that Spiderman had to push out even more of Raibi's chakra in counter because of that didn't help. Also, Naruto's normal Rasengan had the equal destructive force to Spiderman's Rasraichi, even though Spiderman had Raibi's chakra to use.

Secondly, even though Spiderman could use more of his chakra to mold his raiton version of the Rasengan, Raibi's chakra would still overpower his. Spiderman had thought, to actually use Rasraichi in full power and effectiveness, he would need to even out his chakra and Raibi's own. Unfortunately, Raibi's chakra was too strong and wild for him to tame, especially for a newbie jinchuuriki like him.

He sighed. If only he can use a normal Rasengan, maybe he won't have to exhaust himself so much.

"_Don't say that. You're pretty much on equal level with Naruto by now, if not stronger"_,a feminine voice said. Spiderman turned his head to a pink-haired medic, overshadowed by a tree's leaves.

"_Isn't that saying much, Sakura?"_,he smirked. A smile from his female companion was the reply. Sakura had come with him to view his training. Having no other thing to do while Naruto was training with Yamato, she decided to look her other friend's training.

"_No, not at all. Naruto told me how you learned the Rasengan even faster than him. That's not weakness"_,she said, shaking her head.

"_Except that this is not the Rasengan. It's still imperfect. He's still stronger than me in this particular ninjutsu"_,Spiderman grumbled. At this, Sakura tilted her head in curiosity. _"Why're you trying so hard to overdo him? Did you bet him or something?"_

The slightly older male scratched the back of his head. The reason for him to overdo Naruto? Well, he had no particular reason for that. Except…

"_Naruto reminded me of a friend of mine back in America"_

Sakura held her knees close to her, reverting from her former uncomfortable sitting position, _"Naruto did?"_. Spiderman nodded and continued, _"In a sense, I'm not trying to overdo him. Just to keep up with him"_

"_And why's that?"_

At Sakura's question, Spiderman chuckled, _"He can't bring Sasuke back alone, now can he?"_

Sakura's eyes widen a fraction. So Spiderman wanted to help Naruto to bring back Sasuke. _"Well, I'm helping him too, you know"_,she pouted. The masked hero laughed lightly, _"Yeah, I know"_

A slight silence filled the air before Spiderman decided to ask Sakura about the thing that had been nagging him in the back of his mind. _"Sakura, can I ask you something?"_

The pinkette looked up to meet his gaze, _"What is it?"_. She could see Spiderman fidgeted nervously before he answered, _"Did you ever had a guardian before?"_

"_A guardian? As in, a godparent?"_,she asked, receiving a nod from Spiderman. She closed her eyes, reminiscing the memories of her childhood.

"_Hmm, none that I remembered. Why?"_

Spiderman eyes widen in shock, surely hidden under the mask. 'So she didn't remember anything? Tch, better ask Madam if she remembered being a godparent'

"_Nah, just asking. Honestly, I looked through your file as well as Naruto's and Sasuke's while I'm in the library"_,he said. Sakura muttered an 'oh' in understanding. Just after that, a whistle could be heard echoing through the air. _"That's Yamato-taichou's whistle. I guess they're finished"_,Spiderman said.

"_Then we should get going"_,Sakura said, standing up and paced up to Spiderman.

_Back at camp…_

"_Nice one, Sai. You're actually able to capture me"_,Yamato said as Sai released the rope he just used to constrict Yamato's hands.

Spiderman and Sakura had just made it there, and Sakura noticed Naruto's absence, _"Where's Naruto?"_,she voiced out.

Said person immediately stomped his way through the woods and grabbed Sai's collar with one hand and a glare, _"Bastard, what was that for?"_,he growled.

"_What was what for?"_,came the emotionless reply.

"_Do you even know what the word 'friend' is?"_,Naruto growled out, glare intensifying.

At that, Sai pulled a small scroll and a brush, with a dip of ink he wrote something in kanji. Spiderman clicked his tongue in annoyance as he can't read kanji, or any Japanese words for that matter.

'Raibi, mind lending me an eye?'

'**Go ahead'**

Spiderman closed his eyes and opened them shortly after, revealing flashing green eyes under his mask. Through the days, he had made a pact with Raibi that, since he couldn't read kanji, he's going to borrow the bijuu's eyes from time to time to read. He used this once before when he went throught the files in the archive.

'_Nakama._ Friend?',his eyes, or more appropriately Raibi's, registered the wirting on Sai's scroll. Spiderma thought this was a lame joke on Sai's behalf, but brushed the assumption away since he saw the serious look n the painter's face.

"_Of course I do. Why?"_,Sai calmly said. Naruto growled even angrier as he said that, while Sai hypothetically continued, _"Please don't blame me for your condition before. It's because your lack in individual skills. Had taichou's taunts didn't get to you, the capture would've been successful. You should be more aware of that fact"_

The glare and the growl didn't seem to faze Sai. Realizing this, Naruto let go of the ANBU's collar and turned away. _"I… I'll never acknowledge you as a member of Team Kakashi!"_,he angrily said. Contrary to what most people would do, Sai smiled, _"And what about Sasuke, then? Will he fight while trying to protect you? Did that made you acknowledge him as a friend?"_,he said.

Naruto stopped in his tracks. Sakura looked at Naruto's back in worry. _'This is bad. Naruto wouldn't be able to hold himself much longer'_,she thought. _"That is, if you can call someone who hurt you a friend"_,Sai continued.

Naruto turned his face back at the emotionless painter, eyes filled with contained anger, _"I'll do anything to save that friend. Even though if I have to be in the same team with you"_

Sai's silence was enough as a reply as Naruto went over to a tree where he put his bag. Sakura looked on, worries all vanished. But she can't shake the tugging feeling in her stomach off her mind. _"Why does he think so far for Sasuke-kun?"_,Sai said, snapping Sakura out of her trance.

She looked towards her new teammate, before turning her gaze to Naruto, _"Because… he thought of Sasuke-kun like his own brother"_,she said sadly. _"You said that you have a brother too, right? At least you must've understood that feeling"_

"_No… not at all"_

Sakura glanced at Sai who by now had his trademark emotionless smile on his face, _"I've told you about the paintings without names, haven't I? I don't have anything called feelings"_

A puzzled look was etched on Sakura's face, _"Not having any feelings… that means you don't feel anything?"_

"_The meaning is the same as the words"_,he said.

Spiderman sighed silently as he thought to himself, 'Great. Another cold bastard'

Sakura looked back at Naruto, another sad gaze on her face as she noticed Naruto clawing into the bark of the tree. Obviously, he's angry. Even though his face didn't show it.

The pink-haired medic's eyes flashed before she glanced back at Sai, _"I've said it before. If you have a brother, then you must understood what it felt if he left"_

"_Hmm, well…"_, Sai began, _"My brother's dead"_

A shocked look was once again etched on her face as Sakura heard the detail. That doesn't make any sense, _"If that's so, then at least you're supposed to be more—"_

"_Would it be nice if I had that kind of expression?"_,Sai continued, cutting Sakura off.

Sakura hasn't got the meaning of Sai's words. She had to glance at Naruto yet again to confirm that he's holding up. The depressed look on his face was contrary to that.

"_What're you trying to say?"_,she asked again, her voice now raising a bit.  
><em>"I mean, I don't know what kind of expression I should have when my brother died"<em>,Sai said, the emotionless tone still there. And it irritated Sakura. _'This guy's…'_

"_Okay, enough story-telling. Pack your things up! We're leaving!"_,Yamato ordered, saitisfied as the pair broke off. Thus, ending the tensionfull talking session.

As Sakura was about to turn her back from Sai, she decided to say one last thing, _"Sai. Truth is, I was about to punch you just now"_. Sai just kept staring at her with an air of indifference. _"But I didn't because Naruto said that he could cope being with in the same team with you… to save Sasuke-kun. For the sake of saving Sasuke-kun, I won't hurt you, no matter what kind of person you are"_

At Sakura's statement, Sai smiled, _"Sakura-san, at times like this… Yeah, it's possible to say that you're nice to Naruto-kun"_. A questioning glance from Sakura made Sai continue, _"I don't know why that feeling might appear. But I've read it in the book that—"_

"_Guys, let's move out. It won't do if we get there late tomorrow noon"_,Naruto cut off. Sai looked on, indifferent. While Sakura looked at him with a slight worry in her eyes, Spiderman just sighed.

'So much for teamwork',he thought.

_Later that day…_

The team had camped out again. Of course, using Yamato's wooden house jutsu. The sun began to set, which made Sakura appreciate Yamato's offer as the first lookout guard. Setting suns are one of the things she liked most, well next to springtime at least.

One of the other reason she readily accepted the duty as the first shift was because she needed some time alone to think. Naruto had been holding out, she had seen. But that didn't ease her worry in any way. Her blonde teammate was never one to contain his temper. And, call it women intuition, but she can feel that Naruto is either going to be in danger, or he'll do something dangerous. And it scares her that she even had that feeling.

'_I mean, what's the worst that could happen? The spy might escape and maybe we'll lose track of Sasuke-kun. And the worst thing that Naruto could_ _do is to try and request another mission from Tsunade-shisou, and he'll still be… Naruto'_,she thought. She pulled her knees closer to her chest, exhausted and deep in thought. Who was she kidding? He's Konoha's Most Surprising and Unpredictable ninja. No one would know what he's going to do. She sighed for the umpteenth time. She really had to stop worrying.

"_What's with the long face Sakura-chan?"_

The sudden sound broke Sakura from her thoughts as she turned back to look to the person she was just thinking about several minutes ago. _"Naruto…"_,she breathed out. Not knowing what to say.

"_Yamato-taichou sent me to relieve you. The sun's already gone, after all"_,he continued, grinning like his usual cheery self. Sakura looked at him with a confused look before turning to where she had just seen the sun setting. He's right, the sun had already sunk to the horizon.

She hadn't took into account on how long has she been spacing out. She sighed before smiling at Naruto, _"Thanks, but I think I'll stay here for a while"_,she said.

Naruto grinned again, _"Can I join you?"_, he said, promptly forgetting about his past attempt to get close to Sakura. Which always ended with a bump on his head.

But instead, Sakura shrugged before saying, _"By all means. It's getting rather lonely up here"_. Though she had her inner self as a good company, a real person is much better. And Naruto is, after all, her best friend.

A grinning Naruto skipped to her side and sat down beside her. _"Sooo… What're you thinking about, Sakura-chan?"_,he said, not knowing how to start the conversation.

Sakura would prefer getting lost in the Forest of Death than telling Naruto the truth that she's been thinking about him. So she just replied with a white lie, _"Nothing in particular. I was just seeing the sunset before you came"_. Naruto closed his eyes and looked at Sakura with a puzzled look on his face. You could literally draw a question mark hovering beside his face, _"The sun had set about an hour before I got here, Sakura-chan"_

Growling, she turned to glare at Naruto, a vein visibly popping on her temple, _"You better don't trifle yourself with slight details, Naruto"_,she said, cracking her knuckles. Naruto immediately brought his hands up in defense, _"Hai, hai. Sorry"_

A comfortable silence filled the air, only accompanied by the sounds of the night crickets. Sakura looked at Naruto, who by now was lying down gazing up at the stars above them. She didn't understand why, but he looked rather peaceful for someone who had his morning that hard. Her eyes then looked at his. The deep blue orbs shining due to the stars.

Too preoccupied by her friend's eyes, she didn't see the smile on his face as he said, _"Ne, Sakura-chan. Do you think Sasuke will come back with us?"_. Sakura blinked as he said that. Now that's weird, it's not like Naruto to have doubts.

"_Why do you ask?"_,she said back.

"_Nah, it's just that… Spiderman told me something about his friend. I think he really resembles Sasuke"_

"_Really? In what way?"_,Sakura voiced out her curiosity.

Naruto closed his eyes, remembering what his web-faced friend had said before he went up to the roof.

**xoxoFlashback Time Machinexoxo**

Naruto had just finished pulling out his sleeping bag from his backpack when he saw Spiderman holding something in his hands. Curious to what his friend was staring at, the blonde sneaked up behind him to take a peek at the thing in front of him.

Spiderman was holding a cellphone, apparently, and was looking at a picture of some people gathered around and smiling. Behind them was a Christmas tree.

"_What, you think you could sneak a peek?"_,the sudden noise coming from in front of him surprised Naruto as he jumped back a few steps. _"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt you"_,he said.

A stretch of his mask told Naruto that Spiderman was grinning, _"Naw, it's alright. I didn't say you can't take a look"_,he said, gesturing for Naruto to sit beside him. As he did, the whiskered ninja took notice of a more detailed appearance of the people in the picture. One was a brown-haired teenager, must've been 19 or his early 20s. Beside him were two people. On his left, was a beautiful, red-haired woman, the same age of the earlier brunette. To the right of said brown-haired guy, was a black haired male, also his age, but an inch or two taller than the first male. On the far left was an aged woman, with white silvery hair. But what he really noticed was the warm look and smile on the old woman's face.

"_Who are they?"_,Naruto asked.

"_They're my friends. The far left is my aunt"_,Spiderman said.

An understanding nod was the reply. Naruto almost slipped and asked his friend about his uncle when the blonde remembered that he had passed away.

"_And the one with the reddish hair?"_,he asked again.

At this, Spiderman visibly scratched his cheek nervously and Naruto almost could make out the slight blush even behind the mask, _"Umm… well… also my friend"_

A light bulb clicked in Naruto's head at Spiderman's suspicious tone, _"Ahaa! I bet she's your girlfriend!"_,the blonde playfully suggested, giving out his pinkie finger.

At the silence and the finger still scratching Spiderman's cheek, Naruto dropped his jaw, _"Wait, she is?"_. The grin on Naruto's face then enlarged several times before he bursted out laughing, _"Hahahaa! Now THIS is rich! Spiderman's girlfriend is in fact a beautiful redhead!"_

Spiderman scowled as he said, _"Shut up. I'm not the one having a pink-haired medic as a girlfriend"_. The laughing stopped abruptly. As silence filled the air, Spiderman dropped HIS jaw, _"Wait, she's not?"_. Naruto shook his head, the slight tint of red didn't leave his cheek.

"_Wow, I really thought she is. Though, judging by how many times she tried to make mountain of your head, she probably isn't"_,Spiderman muttered. Naruto shook his head clear of the imagination about having Sakura as his girlfriend, _"And who's the two guys?"_

"_The one in the middle is… well, he's also my friend"_,Spiderman said. The white lie was to keep the secret of his identity untouched, _"And the one on the right is my best friend"_,he finished, a smile on his face invisible due to the mask.

"_Heee, you sure got a lot of friends"_,Naruto said.

There was a moment of silence before Spiderman answered, _"Yeah…"_,weakly.

Naruto glanced at Spiderman who was looking rather depressed, _"What's the matter?"_

The webheaded hero sighed heavily as if the weight of the earth had stuck itself in his airpipe for several minutes, _"The last guy's name is Harry Osborn. The guy's pretty much my best friend and I thought it would stay that way…"_

The depressing aura coming out from Spiderman was thick. Being a jinchuuriki, Naruto could understand what Spiderman would be thinking. But he needed to make sure…_"What happened?"_,Naruto asked, he had a bad feeling about this.

"_It all changed when he thought that I killed his father"_

The shock froze all of Naruto's five senses,_ "What?"_

"_His father was a villain, a guy codenamed Green Goblin. That guy had fought me three times where, in the second fight, told me the truth about the society"_,Spiderman continued.

"_What did he say?"_,Naruto asked, overcoming his shock little by little.

Spiderman turned his body and leaned to a wall while looking up to the ceiling, _"He said, 'Despite of everything you've done for them, eventually they'll hate you'. And he's right, because after that the papers printed some bull about me as the menace"_

Naruto looked down as he came up with a realization. Even though Spiderman said that he didn't understand his suffering, in truth, his life is so much like that of Naruto's. Looked down on because of what he does, even though it's for the people.

"_But you know what? Eventually, I proved him wrong"_,Spiderman suddenly said, grinning.

Naruto, dumbfounded, let out an unintelligent _"Huh?"_ as the reply.

"_In my third fight, I was losing badly because the Green Goblin took the red-haired woman you saw as hostage. Just when he was about to stab me with his glider, several people began throwing things at him. I didn't really understand, but it's a nice feeling that I had someone to protect my back. Even though they were some downtown folks"_,he retold, a smile on his face.

Naruto had a feeling of pride in him as he realized that his fellow jinchuuriki had been acknowledge by the people around him. _"But, eventually it's a one-on-one fight with everything I had. I almost won, but he tricked me and tried to call his glider to stab me from the back. So I…"_,he trailed off the last sentence.

"_So you dodged. But that means his glider stabbed him"_,Naruto finished for him. Spiderman nodded grimly, _"I shouldn't have. Had I had Raibi sealed in me way back then, I wouldn't need to dodge"_

Had anyone look into Spiderman's eyes, they might cry. Literally. _"So… this Harry guy hunts you down because of that?"_,the blonde jinchuuriki inquired.

"_Yeah… the hate drives him. He became poisoned by revenge. Eventually, he took his father's mantel as another Goblin. That also kinda ended our friendship because he already knew my identity"_,the weabhead said again.

That clicked something in the back of Naruto's mind as that sounded achingly familiar, _'He's… just like Sasuke'_

Unfortunately, the chat had to end as Yamato called the hyperactive ninja, _"Naruto, go relieve Sakura. The sun had already set"_

Naruto, albeit a little hesitant, nodded, _"Right. Later, Spiderman"_

A wave back, and Naruto went up to the roof.

**xoxoFlashback Time Machine, Power Downxoxo**

Sakura listened attentively as Naruto retold his chat with Spiderman. To be frank, she thought it was unfair that Spiderman lost a friend like that. _"That's so sad. I dind't thought he had that kind of past"_,she said.

"_Yeah. No one really deserved to be like that"_,Naruto said.

Sakura turned her head to look at Naruto. As she did, she thought that her blonde teammate more resembles Spiderman than his friend. Whilst his friend resembles more like Sasuke.

A sudden blow of cold wind made contact with Sakura's bare arms, and she shuddered under the temperature. Naruto noticed it and his attention was fully on his pink-haired teammate, _"Sakura-chan? Is it cold?"_

Sakura smiled, a bit taken aback by the sincere question, _"No, it's just the wind"_

Naruto rose up from his laying state. As he sat, he pulled the zipper of his black and orange jacket down. Sakura, out of instinct, blushed as she immediately jumped away, _"Waaa, what are you doing?"_

"_You better use this"_,Naruto said, handing her his jacket.

"_Eh?"_,Sakura let out, a confused look on her face.

"_Well, you looked kind of cold. My jacket would cover you up, at least. It's much warmer than it looks"_,he said, still gesturing her to grab the jacket. Because he had discarded his orange jacket, now Naruto only sported his black t-shirt with the spiral insignia in the middle.

"_But… what about you? It's your shift after this"_,Sakura asked. The worried tone still there.

Naruto grinned, _"I'm not that cold anyhow. Come on, just wear it"_,he said, urging her to take his jacket.

Sakura dumbly nodded before taking the jacket and slowly put her hands into the sleeves. When she finished, she zipped it up. And there you have it, a pink-haired Naruto, so to speak.

Frankly, the jacket was a size or two too big for her. Her hands didn't really came out of the sleeves, and the length of the torso part almost covered her skirt, too. Naruto had to fight hard to keep his blush from appearing, but he laid a comment anyway.

"_Hehe, you look kinda cute with that, Sakura-chan"_,he said.

It's either because of that comment, or the warmth of his jacket, Sakura's cheek began to redden. She raised her fist for a punch, but she didn't find the energy to do so because of Naruto's blushing-grinning face. So instead, she bonked his head softly, _"Baka…"_

Naruto smiled as he playfully winced, _"Itai, Sakura-chan"_

The pair sat in silence for several more moments, blushing, before Sakura rose and turned to go back, _"I'll call Spiderman to relieve you. I think he'll need some time to talk with you again"_,she said.

Naruto nodded. As Sakura vanished from his sight, Naruto turned his look to the sky above him. He remembered what Spiderman had said about what his friend had become because of one slight misunderstanding.

'_Posioned by revenge… huh?'_

Downstairs, Spiderman took notice of Sakura's new appearance. His eyebrow rose, and he can't help but ask her, _"Just what you two did up there?"_. He decidedly put the emphasis on 'you two' part.

A frightening glare from Sakura scares the shit out of Spiderman's pants, figuratively, and he instantly took off to the roof.

End of Chapter 19

**Hahahah! My, I got a good laugh because of this chapter. Yeah, Spiderman's kinda allergic to seafood in this fanfic. *pfft* 'Sashimi blast'**

**I wrote the part when Spiderman told the story about Harry to Naruto while hearing to The Fray- How to Save a Life. Now that's ironic. Kinda made ME feel lonely.**

**Yeah, NaruSaku is the main pairing here, so I decided to give some affection from the two. A slight one, but a plus nonetheless. It might seem kind of light, maybe too light for someone's taste. But hey, it's better if they take it slow, now don't they?**

**Alright, in case anyone wonders, the thing about Spiderman's Rasraichi is it is on equal level with Naruto's Rasengan. Only downside was that it consumes more of his chakra because he had to automatically call upon Raibi's chakra to do it.**

**And, of course calling your bijuu's chakra required a good amount of your own chakra. And that's exhausting.**

**Jutsu Description:**

_Mokuton: Shichurou no Jutsu _(Wood Style: Four Pillar Prison Jutsu)- Yamato's jutsu, where he summoned a rectangular wooden prison from the ground. It's actually the First Hokage's kekkei genkai.

_Mokuton: Shichuka no Jutsu_ (Wood Style: Four Pillar House Jutsu)- Yamato's jutsu. Also his idea of camping the night out. -_-


	21. Chapter 20

**Sorry for the very late update guys-_- Really, internet traffic is a bastard.**

**I kinda realized that this story had a lot of humor. Too many, for my sake. Thank God I put this in Humor/Drama category.**

**O yeah, this chapter's setting is going to be right out of the manga. Well, mostly, anyhow, Naruto will fight Orochimaru. And there'll be a slight change of battle after that. But don't get confused if some of the actions were undisplayed. I was too lazy to write both the action in the manga plus the one I had in mind.**

**And there'll also be a filler in this chapter. I thought that Raibi's history was not told when I started this fic, so I'll just do it now.**

**Also, slight addition in the character conversations: "-blablabla-". This symbol will be used for instant flashbacks on a certain person's words that a specific character will remember.**

**Disc,: Do I look like the owner of Naruto? Please. Every mirror cracks in the presence of my face, so how should I know?**

**xoxoxo**

**Chapter 20**

**Consumed by Darkness**

The next morning, the five-man cell woke from their sleep thanks to some bothersome ringing. Well, technically, four of them are. One still looked like having some sleep, as if that's possible due to the ringing. When they searched around for the source of the ringing, they came across a rather intriguing sight.

"_SHUT UP! Stupid freaking ringing bastard! Can't anybody get some sleep here?"_,came a sound from the nearest person to that ringing sound. As the person shouted with the incoherent language, an alarm clock came flying through the window, crashing to the ground.

The sweatdrop from Naruto, Sakura, Yamato, even Sai can fill a can of Mountain Dew when they stared at a labor-breathing Spiderman.

"_Sorry. Sleep issues."_

Needless to say, the team was not grateful for both the irritating ringing AND the dry humor in the morning.

So after the unfortunate incident, the team rapidly packed up their things and went out of the wooden house, before Yamato made several handseals and the wooden house exploded in smoke before disappearing.

A rather efficient way to go camping.

As the morning sun bathed them, Spiderman came across and odd sight. Sakura wearing a black and orange jacket, obviously Naruto's. 'So I wasn't day-dreaming last night?'

Sakura suddenly realized the reason she found Spiderman staring at her with his single eyebrow invisibly rose. She looked down on her figure before cursing under her breath. _'I forgot about Naruto's jacket!'_

'_**Please. You're just too comfortable in it to care.'**_

'_Shut up!'_

Shaking her head, she ran up to Naruto before she noticed his different outfit.

It was strange, somehow. Naruto wearing his black t-shirt and his orange long pants, but he also wore his new Chuunin vest above it. The red spiral insignia on the back perfectly replaced the one on his jacket, and it still looked right. And he somehow looked a bit dignified.

Sakura almost face-palmed herself. Naruto? Dignified? Those two words never really did add up as long as she knew him all these years.

Sighing, she poked him on the shoulder to gain his attention, _"Hey, Naruto. You forgot your jacket!"_

The blonde looked back at her with an oblivious and innocent look that clearly suggested that he forgot about the jacket. Looking down on her, his eyes widen before he looked around frantically. Realizing the coast was clear, as Yamato and Sai had moved forward, he grinned at her sheepishly.

"_Sorry, Sakura-chan. I kinda forgot about that. No wonder I can't find it last night!"_,he said, receiving a pout from the pink-haired medic.

"_Baka, you're the one that lend me this and you're the one who forgot about it earlier? Seriously…"_. The grin never left his face as Naruto talked again in a teasing manner, _"Aww, come on. You have to admit that it's quite comfy."_

"_Yeah, yeah, whatever. Here."_,came the defeated response as Sakura unzipped Naruto's jacket she previously wore and handed it to the owner. Naruto, in return, unzipped his vest and took his jacket.

At the sight of Naruto's jacket-less figure, a warm feeling suddenly came to Sakura's cheeks. Her mind was racing through the reason she felt so.

The fact was, her eyes were transfixed on Naruto. She had to admit, he HAD grown, whether she liked it or not. Maybe she didn't notice it last night because of the lack of light, but now she was seeing it clearly. She never thought that Naruto of all people would look muscular. And no, not in the way the bodybuilders might look. He's kind of lean, to be exact. She had to assume that his jacket had hid this figure all this time.

Now, she really did face-palmed herself. _'Okay, that's weird. Now I'm practically ogling at him. What's wrong with me?'_

'_**I'd blame your hormones.'**_,came the calm reply from the back of her mind.

Before the inner and outer Sakura could have a mental bickering, Spiderman's voice joined in, _"Hah, just like a long-last couple."_

Both of the referred 'couple' glared at him, activating their Head Expansion Jutsu, _"I DARE YOU SAY THAT AGAIN!" "SHUT UP!"_,came the corresponding response. The latter being Naruto.

Spiderman made a run for it and joined with Yamato and Sai's pace, evading the angry kunoichi and blonde shinobi behind him.

**xoxoxo**

_Tenchi Bridge…_

As the team made their way to the Tenchi Bridge, Yamato halted them just as they were coming into a clearing.

"_Taichou, why're we stopping?"_,Naruto asked.

"_Wait for a moment. I'll need some preparations. Sakura, I'll transform myself into Sasori, then I'll need you to check whether the henge is perfect or not."_,Yamato ordered. Sakura nodded, so Yamato pulled of some handseals before poofing into smoke and revealed…

'Don't tell me…',Spiderman thought echoed in his mind.

A hunched form wearing a black coat with red clouds and a braided straw hat. And there's the fact that his mouth was covered by some kind of black cloth.

"_Is this Sasori?"_,Spiderman asked.

"_He is."_,came the short reply from Sakura. _"It's perfect, taichou."_

'So the Hunchback of Notre Dame is actually a member of a ninja ass-kicking organization?',the webheaded hero thought again.

'**Idiot.'**,came the booming reply from his mind.

"_Alright, then now I'll test the sound pitch. Please tell me when I'm already at the right frequency."_,Yamato said. Second after that, he began to emit some kind of groaning-humming sound. It passed after several seconds when Sakura deemed the frequency identical with Sasori's.

"_Well, I guess that's all."_,Yamato said, his voice now a deep one that almost made Spiderman think that his throat was hurting. Definetely Sasori's voice.

"_Taichou, you can't be that polite. Sasori always talks rather inappropriate, especially when he was kept waiting."_,the pinkette instructed.

The henge'd figure of Yamato lifted his head before muttering, _"That's right. After all, I hate to be kept waiting."_

The figure walked, or practically dragged himself, judging by the way he walks, to the center of the bridge. Naruto, Sakura, and Sai hid behind a relatively big boulder which was rather far from the bridge. Spiderman had already clinged upside-down under the bridge, a little farther forward than Yamato was in order to cut off the spy's escape path if he will try to run away.

The bug-faced hero had to admit, this was one big bridge. He had to take some time scaling it in an upside-down position to reach the point he was on now.

Several minutes passed. Another one. And another. Until ten minutes had passed, no one came.

But then, Spiderman could feel the vibration from the bridge by the tips of his fingers. No doubt resounded from someone's footsteps. It came from his side, so that means it's the spy all right.

Naruto had a look of the newcomer. A hooded figure, with light purple robe. _"Is that…?"_

"_Yeah, I guess it is."_,Sakura answered his unfinished question.

The three subordinate, at this point, hadn't got a good look on the spy's face.

Even Yamato couldn't discern the spy's face. The hood was covering his face fully, overshadowing it. _"It's been a while, Sasori-sama."_,the spy said, finally lifting his hood.

"_It's been 5 years, hasn't it?"_,the silver-haired man said.

All of them, aside from Spiderman who couldn't see the person, had at least a bit shock on their face. The silver-haired man, his hair in a ponytail, was wearing a full-rounded glasses. And the face was too familiar to forget.

'_Yakushi Kabuto…'_,Yamato thought. Of all people, this guy had to be the spy. It just kept getting worse.

"_Were you followed?"_,the deep voice of Sasori asked.  
><em>"No, the coast is clear for now."<em>,Kabuto replied.

"_How's your condition?"_

"_The odd feeling when I remembered who I am because of your jutsu…well, my head is a little heavy to say the least."_,Kabuto said again.

Back behind the boulder, a growling Naruto could be seen, _"It's him again..!"_

"_How come…I didn't think that Kabuto would be Sasori's spy."_,Sakura said. Well, considering what Kabuto had been for as long as she knew; a fellow Chuunin participant, and then Orochimaru's subordinate, no one could know Kabuto's mind.

Yamato spoke up using Sasori's deep voice, _"I have a few questions…"_

"_Please make it brief, since I don't have much time. I've practically put my life on the line just by fooling Orochimaru and coming here."_,Kabuto said, but without the tone of haste.

'Sasori' raised his head a bit as he began to talk again, _"Give me the information about your hideout and Uchiha Sasuke's whereabouts."_

A pause. A slight one before Kabuto glanced at his supposed master and said, _"We have a lot of hideouts. We travel to each one every once in a week, and of course there's also a hideout outside the Sound. Orochimaru's spies lead us there. But switching places like that has trouble of it's own. Right now, we're stationed in a hideout in a small island in the northern lake. We're moving out in three days."_

"_Uchiha Sasuke is also there."_,the silver-haired man added.

Spiderman could hear the conversation faintly. He had been lucky that he was strategically placed under the bridge where his presence is perfectly concealed, or at least that's what he thought. Unless the spy above him had a Byakugan, he'll never be discovered.

Naruto had to concentrate his hearing senses to it's fullest to even catch a some sound whatsoever from the converstion. _"I can't hear anything. The wind's too strong."_

"_Idiot, that's why we can get as close as this! He can't sense us since our scent and sound are carried away by the wind."_,Sakura said.

As Kabuto finished explaining, Yamato caught a glimpse of a bush from the direction Kabuto came from moving. Kabuto must've noticed this too, since he instantly turned back to look at the bush.

Fortunately, it revealed a white rabbit. Kabuto sighed, _"A wild rabbit, huh?"_

The rabbit skipped away. Two skips later, when the rabbit is away from the two's vision, a pair of strong jaw caught it. A snake. Must've been a constrictor judging by the size, controlled by none other than the Snake Sannin himself.

**xoxoxo**

_Konohagakure no Sato…_

A tired Tsunade stamped lazily through the paperworks she was damned to work on. The stack she had stamped obviously lower than the ones she hasn't work on. It was at times like this she wished she had brought an extra bottle of sake with her.

Just when she thought of running away from her work for the umpteenth time, Shizune came bursting in.

"_Tsunade-sama!"_

The blonde sannin sighed. Great, MORE work. _"What is it Shizune? And will you please not scream everytime you enter my office in the future?"_

"_My apologies, Tsunade-sama. But it's urgent. We have a message!"_,her apprentice said.

Tsunade snorted, _"So? Messages were sent everyday. And it only adds my work, anyway. So why bother?"_

Now, Shizune had counted herself as a rather patient person. But her master's behavior could always tick her off sometimes, _"Because this particular message came via Chibigumo!"_

At that, Tsunade's heart almost leapt out of her monstrous chest, as if that's possible. That name is one she could never forget, as it is her old friend's personal messenger summon. The smallest, yet fastest messenger on eight legs.

The sigh that came out from Tsunade's mouth was a signal for Shizune to show her the message. As Shizune handed her a white envelope with a rather childish big red bow tie, Tsunade sweatdropped. _'I guess her eccentric ways hasn't change.'_,she thought.

The Hokage pulled the bow tie off. Opening the letter, she was startled to see that there were no words in the letter. Rather, there was only a shape of a hand and also several seals drawn under it. Tsunade creased her brows, the seals under the hand drawing was for a summoning jutsu…

"_Shizune. Get out of the office and place a soundproof barrier around the room. Also, notify anyone that wanted to see me to come in later."_,the blonde ordered. Her apprentice nodded and made her way out of the room.

Once the slight humming noise was heard, the sound of a barrier being placed, Tsunade bit her thumb and began to make several handseals before slamming her hand to the floor in front of her desk.

"_Kuchiyose no Jutsu_ (Summoning Jutsu)_!"_,she said loudly. For several minutes, there was only silence that followed. Until a burst of smoke came forth in front of Tsunade.

The Hokage stared at the smoke before she started talking, _"It's been a long time, Cynthia."_

The smoke cleared out, revealing the person that is Madam Web. As usual, the aged woman wore her red spider robe and sat formally on her hover chair.

"_It has been, indeed. You haven't change, Tsunade."_,Madam Web said.

Tsunade waved the comment off, _"This is just a genjutsu. I'm really just as old as you."_

Madam Web, nodded affirmative. _"I'm sorry if the summoning went too long. I had to check whether or not it's really your chakra that was pulling me."_

Tsunade grinned, _"As usual, your teleportation techniques were flawless. But I never thought you'd manage to create a human teleportation through summoning."_

The robed woman began to stand up. Tsunade noted how different her old friend is, seeing as she wore dark red spectacles and the red robe.  
><em>"Since when did you started wearing robes?"<em>

"_Since I completed my Sage training. Only I chose not to wear this back then."_

Tsunade looked up to look at her friend's covered eyes, _"So it's true? You're a Kumo Sennin _(Spider Sage)_?"_

Cynthia nodded, _"Yes. But now's not the time to discuss about this. There's a reason I sent you the Summoning seal."_

"_Which is?"_

Madam Web walked silently to look to the village through the window of Tsunade's office, looking to the village she once had stayed in. It had changed so much since the last time she saw it.

The once war-filled terrain around the village were now covered by trees, courtesy of the First Hokage's power. And it was peaceful as ever.

"_I see Spiderman had already departed to that mission you told me."_

Tsunade nodded, not knowing where the conversation was headed. _"To be honest, he's nothing like I expected. He is completely different from how you described it to me."_

A chuckle was her reply, _"Well, he was nothing like I had expected either when I took him under my tutelage."_

"_But at least you should've told him something earlier. He's really clueless about what Rikudou Sennin had done to the shinobi continent."_

The seemingly older woman sighed, _"Yes, that was my fault. I had no time to explain him that. I had to prepare something."_

At Tsunade's questioning look, Madam Web dug into her robes and fished out what seemed like a scroll. _"What is that?"_

Madam Web looked down as she put the scroll down on Tsunade's desk. Tsunade proceeded to open the scroll and read it. There was a kanji for 'seal' and 'suppress' on the paper, but Tsunade had no time to ask what it was. _"I assume you know about Spiderman's ninjutsu ability?"_,Madam Web asked.

"_Yes. From what I've seen from the Chuunin exams, he's a Raiton specialist. And he has a huge amount of chakra, almost at Naruto's level. He even learned Kagebunshin AND Rasengan, which was odd since I never thought of someone else other than Jiraiya and Naruto were currently able to learn it."_,Tsunade said. Madam Web nodded.

"_The reason why his jutsu is mainly Raiton, and why his chakra level is on par with Naruto-san, is because I made him a jinchuuriki."_,the Kumo Sennin admitted.

"_What?"_,Tsunade almost destroyed the desk by the hardness of her grip. To hear that her long-lost ally had sealed a bijuu into her own apprentice was, to say the least, shocking.

There was a sense of disappointment in her mind, but Tsunade brushed it off. Cynthia must have a reason. The robed elder continued, _"The scroll I gave you was to suppress the bijuu's chakra, should Spiderman lose control. I have faith in him, but nevertheless, he is still green."_

A cold silence filled the room, thankfully it was short since Tsunade raised her voice again, _"What bijuu did you seal in him?"_,the blonde asked, albeit with little dread.

"_Raibi no Ookami_ (Lightning-Tailed Wolf)._"_,was the simple answer.

The Hokage's blondish eyebrows furrowed. _"I never heard of such bijuu."_

"_True. The Raibi is a clone of the Kyuubi itself."_,Madam Web said.

At this, Tsunade tensed. It can't be… _"Raibi…is it the Kyuubi's yin counterpart?"_

Madam Web rose an eyebrow at Tsunade's curious question. _"What makes you say that?"_

"_The Kyuubi's chakra inside Naruto has always been the yang part of the Kyuubi. The light one. Whilst the yin part of the chakra, the dark one, was brought to the death by the Yondaime Hokage."_,Tsunade explained herself. A slight nod from her friend answered her. After that, an odd laugh came from Madam Web's mouth.

"_Tsunade, Tsunade. You didn't actually think that I took the yin power of the Kyuubi from the Fourth, did you? Yondaime Hokage sealed himself to die with the yin power of the Kyuubi. No, the Raibi was cloned long before that."_

Tsunade's shoulder sagged in relief. But then she looked back at her friend, _"What do you mean 'long before that'?"_

"_I meant long before the Kyuubi attacked Konoha."_,the robed woman answered as-a-matter-of-factly.

"_I know that! What I meant was when was he cloned and by whom?"_,a vein popped on Tsunade's temple on Madam Web's behavior.

But the Spider Sage merely grinned, as if Tsunade had just came up with a good joke before saying, _"Then ask yourself another question, Tsunade. Why do you think the Sage of Six Paths can generate that fabled Raiton jutsu to hide the shinobi continent?"_

The Fifth Hokage looked stricken at the question. And then she answered in a guarded tone, yet she still wasn't sure with herself.

"_Raibi?"_

The nod of Madam Web's head was the last thing Tsunade wanted to see. _"Long before Rikudou Sennin's legendary fight with the Ten-Tailed beast, he crossed path with a One-tailed lightning wolf."_,Madam Web began explaining.

Receiving no reaction from the Hokage, she continued,_ "The sage had just finished his travel around the world. He decided, for the greater good, he would have to hide the shinobi continent. So he and the wolf made a pact that the sage was to borrow Raibi's power. And so, he sealed Raibi inside him. When he unleashed the Raiton jutsu, he did it as the Raibi's jinchuuriki._

"_But it didn't last, because after that Raibi was unsealed once again due to the unstable state of his chakra. Reason is, Raibi was only a clone of one of the Juubi's tails. By whom it was cloned, even the sage had no idea. But because of that and his connection with the ninth tail of the Juubi, his chakra was still unstable. When he made the pact with Raibi, the sage promised that Raibi was to live a life as an independent being, not someone's clone._

"_So the sage did what most people couldn't. Using his prowess, he pulled out the Raibi's tail; the only connection between him and Kyuubi at that time, and absorbed it. He then gained the power of the master of lightning, so he called forth nine bolts of lightning from the skies and placed it on Raibi as a replacement of his old tail."_

Tsunade looked on in surprise, and in shock. She never thought that there's that kind of history. There were no records that told anything about the sage's encounter with Raibi.

"_How did you know all this?"_

The Spider Sage had a small, yet warm smile on her face, _"Some things are better left unknown, old friend."_

**xoxoxo**

_Back at Tenchi Bridge…_

"_By the way, about the thing you ordered me, Sasori-sama…"_,the silver-haired man said.

Yamato looked a little stricken. He's running out of time. _'Damn, I still have some other things I want to ask. But I'll be found out if I continue more than this.'_

"_Orochimaru placed a protection jutsu on every cell specimen from the body he used for the Tensei. Frankly, I can't analyze the cells."_

"_Is that so…"_,the deep of Sasori's answered, rather disappointed.

Kabuto narrowed his eyes as he kept silent, unsure of what to make of his master's unfinished statement.

Back behind the boulder, an agitated Naruto could be seen, _"What's taking him so long…? It's easier if he just grab him already!"_

Sakura cast a glance at him, _"He's up against Kabuto. If taichou failed to capture him, then it's over. Being cautious is the right thing to do."_

"_But if he's too careful and the target gets suspicious, the capture timing will be lost."_,Sai added.

"_Well then…Please hand out the stuff that we've talked about. I can't stay out here too long, either."_,Kabuto finally said. His hand stuck out as if asking for something. _"If I was discovered meeting with you here, I could get killed."_

"_All right."_,'Sasori' said.

'_It's already the limit. There's no other way but to do it now.'_,Yamato thought under the kugutsu disguise. Fondling with his utility bag on his behind, he then instantly shot his hands out, kunai in hand.

It was then someone made a drastic approach.

"_It seems like an interesting story. Why don't you let me in this conversation…? Kukuku"_

Orochimaru had practically apparated to Kabuto's back, shocking both the glasses-wearing man and Yamato. And the snakes were ready to attack, too.

'_He was followed?'_,Yamato thought.

The snake that had coiled on Kabuto's side began to constrict him. But Kabuto was faster, and he fled away leaving the snake constricting his robe. Kabuto jumped back, following 'Sasori's' short retreat.

Down below the bridge, Spiderman tensed as he felt the sudden arrival of a new opponent. 'This chakra…it's terrifying! Who the hell is that?',he thought, his spider-sense blaring like crazy. It's not everyday his senses goes wild. He had to be careful.

"_Orochimaru!"_,Naruto said loudly in disbelief and shock. Sakura's eyes widen, not believing what she's seeing. Sai, however, even though maintaining his expressionless face, looked a little calculating about the new turnout.

"_Had you didn't pull out your kunai, I'm certain I'll be late to evade that."_,Kabuto said.

Orochimaru chuckled, _"That robe…reminds me of the old days…Sasori."_

"_You followed Kabuto…?"_,the robed figure asked in the deep false voice.

"_Maa…I'm intending to thank you. The kid you've sent me has been…very useful, being the med-nin he is. I've been short of test subjects. And the kid's medical ninjutsu was able to keep using my previous test subjects, even the severely wounded ones."_,Orochimaru said, a tint of snake hissing in every s's of his sentences.

Yamato, inside the kugutsu, was calculating the possible win-lose ratio in case he had to engage Orochimaru in battle. The results were disappointing, having to face one of the Sannin like him.

And if he had to cooperate with Kabuto, he'll be discovered as a fake once his fighting style is shown. That makes both options as unusable options.

He didn't have any more time to think, however, as the instant Kabuto activated his chakra scalpel, the silver-haired man's hand slashed at the head part of the kugutsu disguise.

Surprised, Yamato immediately jumped out of the robed kugutsu and up into the air. _'Was I found out? No…what's the meaning of this?'_

His thinking time was once again cut short, as Orochimaru made three or four handseals before launching several snakes from his sleeves, _"Senei Tajashu_ (Multi Shadow Snake Hands)_!"_,the snake Sannin bellowed as he did so.

The snakes were fast. Enough to catch Yamato off-guard in the air and began to constrict him, before one of them bit the jounin on the neck.

Thankfully, thanks to a well-timed Kawarimi, Yamato managed to flee from the snakes.

"_A Mokuton substitution jutsu. You must be…"_,Orochimaru began before he trailed off.

"_Orochimaru-sama. Is he the real Sasori?"_,Kabuto asked as he was beginning to become curious of the Konoha jounin.

"_No, that's not him. Kabuto, you've been his subordinate for quite some time, yet you don''t know his face?"_,Orochimaru asked, even without a tone of real curiosity.

"_It's because that he was a loner that hides in a kugutsu."_,came the reply from his subordinate.

"…_What's the meaning of this? Kabuto, you're supposed to be still under Sasori's jutsu."_,Yamato said in disbelief. True, intels were often to be wrong, but he can't believe the information on Sasori's spy was THIS far-off.

"_That jutsu…has been cancelled by Orochimaru-sama since long before this."_

Yamato looked straight into Kabuto's circle spectacles, _"I can't believe you'd pretend as if you're still under Sasori's jutsu and betrayed Orochimaru…Is this because of Orochimaru's jutsu?"_

Kabuto chuckled rather fiendishly, _"No such thing. It's just that my train of thinking is the same as Orochimaru-sama's. It's my whim."_

"…_By the way, who are you? I was intending on finishing Sasori off, but it seems my plan was far-off."_,Kabuto asked.

Under the bridge, Spiderman was already agitated. His muscles were tensing under the heavy chakra pressure, 'Come on, Yamato-taichou, give me the signal! I can't stand here any longer!',he screamed in his mind.

"_Kabuto, I'll explain about this child later...By the way, why don't you call your four mices to come here?"_. It was either because the fact that Orochimaru had discovered his strategy, and Spiderman's pincer attack, or because the Snake Sannin said it so calmly, Yamato was getting a bit unnerved.

But Orochimaru had already found out, so why bother hiding? Yamato waved his hand from his back to his front, signaling the three behind him to regroup with him.

The three, Naruto, Sakura and Sai, jumped and landed on the bridge after seeing the signal. As they arrived, Yamato sighed before channeling a drip of chakra along the wooden bridge towards Spiderman. As a wooden hand poked his side, Spiderman grinned before activating his Raiken and punched the part of bridge he was clinging on, resulting in an explosion full of splinters behind the two villains.

But it seems said villains ignored his grand entrance, so Spiderman was left muttering things about 'ungrateful evil-doers'.

Kabuto had to suppress an urge to smirk smugly as he settled to smile slightly instead, _"You again?"_,he said, gesturing to Naruto.

Orochimaru smiled coldly as he began his own observation,_"…A face that I have seen several times before. And it seems the Kyuubi brat is here, too."_

Naruto's glare was so intense, that Spiderman could almost make out the change in Naruto's pupil which was now turning into slits.

"_Maybe now I can judge who's stronger. You, or Sasuke-kun…"_

Then, the most unthinkable thing, or the most predictable thing, that happened next had Konoha's five-man cell's other member's taken aback.

"_Give back…Sasuke…!"_,Naruto growled, in a voice which was so deep it can't be possibly his.

Sakura noticed the slight sizzling that's happening around her blond teammate. And so did Sai and Yamato. The pink-haired medic had herself on guard, having an idea of what's happening.

"_It's not 'give him back', Naruto-kun…"_,Kabuto said, his mouth slightly and smugly smiling under the glasses. _"Sasuke came to us willingly. You're pathetic. You're a man, you should've grown up over the years and accept that fact."_

The statement ticked Sakura off, and it was visible even to Spiderman who was behind Orochimaru and Kabuto as the glare almost bore through him, _"Shut up, four eyes! You don't even understand Naruto's feelings, so don't talk like you know everything!"_,she shouted.

"_Bastard like these guys are always like that, Sakura. There's no point on reminding them that."_,Spiderman's calm voice cut through the air, leaving a gaping Sakura staring at him.

As she was about to retort, Spiderman activated his lightning fist once again, _"Although, I have to agree. Four eyes DO talk too much."_,he growled out in anger.

The sparkling blue light of Spiderman's lightning didn't seem to faze the two villains, not that it was what he was aiming for. Orochimaru chuckled out, _"If you want to know about Sasuke, you'll have to force it out of me…that is, if you're able to."_

A blast, followed by a lunging Naruto who had his sudden burst of speed crunching the place he just stood on several seconds ago. The three people near him had to shield their face from the flying splinters. The blonde ninja suddenly appeared in front of Orochimaru, clawed hand reared back and enveloped in what seemed like a fox-shaped chakra cloak.

Naruto's clawed hand slammed into Orochimaru's face as it somehow embed itself into the snake Sannin's face, and sent him flying away diagonally from the bridge. Spiderman had to keep himself from wincing at the sound of the sickening crunch of Orochimaru's impact with the trees.

Sakura, who by now had lowered her arm from her earlier guard, stared wide-eyed at Naruto's form. She knew she couldn't believe it without seeing it first-hand, but… _'Naruto…this is…"_

Sai had a guarded look as his eyes narrowed when he looked at Naruto, _'What is that?'_

Spiderman's spider-sense was going on and on, until Spiderman ignored the high-pitched ringing on the back of his head altogether. 'Is this…?'

'**It's the bijuu cloak. I can't believe he already got this far, even though it's still the first tail…'**,Raibi answered. He was, for once, grateful that he was placed behind bars. His face was scrunched in anger and disbelief. After all this time…

He can't believe Kyuubi's chakra is still this strong.

"_Naruto-kun, you've grown…"_,Kabuto said.  
><em>'The Kyuubi's power is getting stronger.'<em>,he added mentally.

Sakura had a struck of realization. Chiyo had said something about this, too. _'-Jinchuuriki are able to summon unimagineable power from their bijuu. That is what makes them the weapon they are.-'_

Naruto was just that. A weapon. At least that must be what the rest of the villager's might think. It's cruel, to have a life so hard because of something that you weren't meant for.

Sakura snapped out of her thoughts when Naruto's pair of blood-red eyes stared at her emerald ones as he glanced behind his shoulder. What really caught her attention, though, was how sad his eyes were when she looked at her.

Personally, Naruto never intended to show this to Sakura, of all people. Sure, he figured that since she had already knew, she won't be too shocked by the fact. But that didn't mean he liked showing off his tenant's power in front of one of his most precious people like this.

Whether she is now scared of him or not, he had no idea.

"_You've grown just like how every other jinchuuriki does, Naruto-kun…"_

A sudden noise came from where Naruto had just thrown Orochimaru. There he was, standing limply and seemed to just practically drag-assed to the other side of the bridge. Strangely, though, his face was half torn.

Now most people would cringe at the sight of the visible skull every people with torn face should have. Problem was, under Orochimaru's pale skin was another face.

The shock came to all of the Konoha ninjas. Spiderman looked on to the snake Sannin and had to remove the image of Chameleon out of his head, having to see someone with similar ability as the face-changing criminal.

"_Also, you who was appointed as their leader. I think Konoha should be more grateful to me. Don't they, my little lab rat?"_,Orochimaru said, pointing at Yamato.

Sakura looked back at the crouching form of Yamato, who looked calm despite what Orochimaru had just said. _'Lab rat? Was Yamato-taichou Orochimaru's test subject once?'_,she questioned mentally.

"_Lab rat? Just who is this man, Orochimaur-sama?"_,Kabuto asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

For a moment, Orochimaru just chuckled as he raised his hand to his face. Spiderman had his stance set, ready if he were to attack. _"The most unique jutsu of all elemental ninjutsu. The power to create a life force, the Wood Style. It was said that the only one to be able to use it perfectly was the First Hokage himself. I wanted that power, so I stole the cell from his body and went to experiment it in my lab."_,his explanation was broken off by his sinister chuckle. _"Oh, I remember those days when I experimented the cells by implanting it in the bodies of several children. Their bodies rejected the First's cells so badly they died one by one, thanks to the cell's life force."_

The snakey villain looked up from his hand, his face now completely reconstructed. _"I thought that all of them had died. But now I see that one of them had indeed survived…"_

"_So now we can take an example of what we could say a long-term experiment…"_,Kabuto said, the smile never leaving his face.

Orochimaru chuckled, _"That's not my concern as of now. Right now, I just want to know if my Sasuke-kun is strong enough by pitting him against Naruto-kun."_

"_He's…not…yours!"_

All attention was now on Naruto, as his cloak began sizzling once again. This time, it had even began to boil madly.

"_DON'T EVER TALK ABOUT SASUKE…LIKE HE'S SOME KIND OF TOY YOU OWN!"_,Naruto roared. As he did, two more tails sprouted out of his bijuu cloak. The whiskers were now thick black and his eyes were more feral-looking. He growled, as if it's not him entirely.

The transformation Naruto had undergone had brought nothing short of a whirlwind. Had they been anything else except a ninja, everyone near him would've been blown away.

Sakura's shock was drawn all over her face as the second and third tail came out. She never thought that she'd be watching this. The mass of chakra in front of her was so big it's frightening.

And Spiderman was currently thinking of a way to get away from Naruto's crossfire. That is until he saw a possible threat. _"Shit!"_,he cursed as he jumped up across from Naruto. It was Kabuto, rearing his hand back and running towards the three-tailed Naruto. His hand itself was covered in a shroud of blue flowing chakra. The web-faced hero didn't have a clue on what that hand might do, but he didn't want to find out, especially if it were to be tested on Naruto.

Naruto somehow noticed Kabuto's approach and glared from his shoulder. Kabuto's step faltered, the glare giving him a bad feeling.

Naruto roared. The roar itself was deafening, and it was enough problem. But suddenly, an explosion in the shape of a dome-like chakra hit Kabuto squarely, sending him flying. Unfortunately, because of that, the bridge was split in half. And it began to crumble.

The speed Kabuto was sent flying with was high enough to bring Sakura down when said bespectacled man crashed with her in-flight. Worse, Sakura accidentally slammed the back of her head to the bridge's floor, rendering her unconscious.

Spiderman was slightly blown upwards by the shockwave. That took him slightly by surprise.

But he was never one to like surprises, especially if it came in the form of his tenant growling in rage. Curious, he called for Raibi through a mental connection.

'Raibi, what's wrong?'

Raibi growled for several seconds before answering his host, **'It's Kyuubi. His chakra was seeping in.'**

In a flash, Spiderman saw Raibi's fur turning bright orange for a second and his eyes flashed red for under a second.

'What the…?'

'**Look, kid. Whatever you do, you have to stay away from Kyuubi's chakra. His chakra is actively trying to possess me, and it will be trouble if something bad happens because of that.'**

'…I got it.'

Spiderman landed on the railing, his eyes searching for Naruto. But he's nowhere in sight.

Yamato was currently recovering from the slight imbalance he was put in, only to see Sakura laying down on an unstable part of the bridge. He cursed, and put his hands into a seal which looked rather like a Buddhist praying style.

"_Mokuton no Jutsu _(Wood Style Jutsu)_!"_,he said. Several large pieces of wood grew out from under the bridge and slammed themselves to the bridge, serving as balancing posts.

Unfortunately, that didn't change much. Sakura's unconscious body began to slide down to the broken end of the bridge. _'Of all times to pass out…'_,Yamato muttered in his mind.

Sai was visibly struggling to keep his balance before he grabbed a scroll. His drawing scroll. _'It's time…'_

He unfurled the scroll and began to draw an artistique-looking bird before summoning it out of the scroll. _'Time for the secret mission.'_

He dived down on his bird. Coincidentally, Sakura happened to fall at the same time.

Yamato wasted no time on ordering Sai to get her, _"Sai! Get Sakura!"_

Sai was still diving down and, at the point where Sakura was in his range, he pitched up, ignoring her altogether.

Yamato's eyes widen in shock. Spiderman immediately lurched down, kicking the railing he was standing on. His arms were sticking out to Sakura, hoping she would wake up and grab his hand. 'Come on… come on, come on, come on!',he screamed in his mind.

He cursed, pulling his arms back to gain more speed and eventually, he caught Sakura by grabbing her back. Almost instinctively, his free hand shot out a web line to the bridge approximately 50 meters above him. The web got to it's designated place, giving a sudden jerk to Spiderman and pulled him upwards in a rubber-like motion.

Yamato sighed. _'That was close.'_,he thought.

As he flew up cradling Sakura in his arms, Spiderman made a glance to the direction where Naruto was. He's not there. But there was a trail of destroyed trees and craters on the ground that marked his way.

He landed with a 'thud'. He then put Sakura softly on the ground, shaking her in effort to wake her up.

"_Sakura. Sakura, wake up!"_,he called.

A stir, and a breath coming out of her mouth. Just the reaction he was looking for. Yamato looked concerned. _"You alright?"_,he asked.

"_H-hai—"_,she was cut off abruptly by a sudden pain on the back of her head. She grunted, clutching the back of her head in pain.

"_Oi!"_,her taichou called once more.

"_I'm sorry. I'm fine now…"_

Sakura began scanning the area. From the destroyed bridge to the trail of destruction in front of it on the other side.

"_This…"_

"_Naruto did it."_,Yamato said calmly. Sakura turned her head instantly, _"Where's Naruto?"_

"_He's on the other side…with Orochimaru."_,Yamato said, this time with a little tint of concern.

Spiderman looked thoughtful for a moment, until he looked at his team captain and said, _"Yamato-taichou, I think I'll need to go there and check up on him."_. Yamato shooked his head, _"No, it's too dangerous. There's a chance you'll get caught in Naruto's crossfire. And then there's still Orochimaru."_

**xoxoxo**

In the forest, Orochimaru was struggling to evade Naruto's raging claw attacks. It was trouble, considering that the bijuu cloak could stretch out the chakra arm part for greater distance.

There was a hit, and it tore Orochimaru's left arm off.

The claw slammed to the ground, causing dust to rise up and clouding the vision of the two fighting shinobi.

Orochimaru jumped to a high tree branch, using his right hand to stabilize his footing. Under the dust cloud, Naruto's three-tailed form could be seen growling while his tails swing to clear the dust.

The snake Sannin's mouth then suddenly open. Following that, his jaw broke and allowed his mouth to stretch even wider. It continued widening, until a new form of Orochimaru slipped between the old skin's mouth.

Just exactly like a snake shedding it's old skin.

"_You've already borrowed the power of the jinchuuriki, but you're still at this level?"_,he began.

"_You're still inferior to Sasuke-kun."_,he sneered.

Naruto growled. As he did, the beginning of a fourth tail began to sprout out.

That didn't get away from Orochimaru's eyes. For once, he might be asking for something more than he could handle, he thought.

**xoxoxo**

Back behind the bridge, Spiderman was still trying to convince Yamato to let him go to the other side of the bridge.

"_Where's Sai?"_,Sakura asked, now beginning to get curious at her other teammates absence.

"_I saw him flying to the other side, too. Something's up with him."_,Spiderman said.

The three of them are too preoccupied with their discussion they missed the sign of black smoke rising to the sky.

"_Well, we can go and search for him later. For now, I'll need to go across the bridge!"_,the web-masked hero said. Yamato sighed as he shook his head.

"_Don't worry. Let me handle it."_,he said, and just as soon as he finished, he put his hand in the same order he used to use his Mokuton jutsu.

"_Mokubunshin no Jutsu _(Wood Clone Jutsu)_."_,as he said that, a wooden clone of him practically split himself from Yamato's body, which partially shifted into wood. The clone then summoned a wood pillar and jumped on it, then he rode it across the bridge's gap.

As the clone landed on the other side, however…

_*GRRAAAAHHH!*_

An inhuman roar came from the forest. And an explosion followed shortly after. The explosion blasted the surrounding trees away, and Yamato's clone stare wide-eyed at the flying tree barks in front of him going for him.

He immediately went through a series of handseals, _"Mokuton: Mokujoheki_ (Wood Style: Wooden Wall)_!"_, he said. A dome of wood rose in front of him and shielded him from the flying debris.

Though the debris themselves didn't reach where the real Yamato, Sakura and Spiderman were, they could feel the force of the explosion nevertheless. Sakura looked stricken, _"What's that?"_,she asked, even though she knew none of them knew the answer.

**xoxoxo**

The explosion took a good portion of the ground around them, leaving an unnatural chunk on the earth where they had just fought.

Dusts and smoke were everywhere, but even then Orochimaru grinned maniacally as his insanely long tongue slithered out.

"_This boy…really, he intrigues me to no end."_,he said, chuckling.

**xoxoxo**

The clone Yamato stood up from his earlier crouching position and jumped over his wooden dome. Dashing through the trees, or what's left of them, he could literally feel the ominous chakra in front of him. As the smoke covered his vision, he jumped up to a high tree which was fortunate enough to stay intact. He immediately regretted it.

There, crouching on all fours, was Naruto. Or who might have been him, if you count the dark-red cloak in the shape of a fox, the blaring white of his eyes and mouth, and most importantly, the four tails weaving behind him.

At the sight, Yamato-Clone had the decency to say _"Shit."_ mentally.

**Naruto's POV**

How long have I been here? …It sure felt too long for my liking.

I didn't remember when did I ended up being somewhere that resembles a sewer. Stupid fox must've called me again.

I looked down to my feet at the sudden feeling of cold. Crap, the water level is rising! I gotta get out of here. I began walking away, until I heard another splashing of foot against water nearby. I turned, only to see who I didn't expect to…

"_Sasuke?"_

He didn't seem to hear me since he kept walking. What concerns me at that time was that he was heading straight into the rising waters.

"_Sasuke, wait!"_,I tried to call him, but either he got deaf when training with Orochimaru or he may be just a figment of my imagination. Either way, he's not listening.

I ran. Towards him and the sewer waters. But no matter how I try, the water was draggin' me down. In a matter of seconds, I was completely submerged. And Sasuke, or imaginary Sasuke, is nowhere in sight.

But that didn't matter, I could barely move. Good thing I could breathe, though that didn't change things much. In a matter of seconds, light flashed through my mind as a resounding echo talked.

"_**Beat it, demon! Or I'll kill you!"**_,the sound said. I didn't have to look where it came from.

I wouldn't bother to. That line was the same one the guy from the orphanage had said years ago.

The water is dragging me further down, and the sounds were gradually becoming louder. _**"It's time to end this…"**_,another sound started speaking. It was Sasuke's, I figured.

"_**This battle…and all the battles we've had until now!"**_

A growl came, from me. Strange, I didn't remember I could growl like that.

"_**If you want to know about Sasuke-kun, you'll have to force it out of me…if you're able to, that is…"**_, Shut up.

It's getting heavier. It's as if all of the pent up stress was coming up in one blow.

It's also getting hard for me to breath.

The voices cackled loudly, and I had to resist the urge to punch the floor. Oh, that's right. The water has finally pulled me to the bottom.

It was still laughing. They all were.

Shut up.

Shut up!

SHUT UP!

**Normal POV**

Kyuubi-Naruto's jaw began to vibrate as a growl came from his mouth.

Orochimaru smiled evilly, before his pale cheeks puffed out and he spat something. It seemed like a huge-amount of snakes, and it was aimed at Naruto. The snakes slithered uncontrollably, making them look like brown tsunami. The snakes then opened their mouth to bring out the edge of Orochimaru's sword, Kusanagi.

Kyuubi-Naruto (I guess I'll call him by Kyuubi-Naruto to keep readers from having the wrong thought) raised a clawed right hand across to his left, and swung it in a powerful backhand. The snake tsunami was now, to put it simply, pieces of burnt scales.

It was only starting.

**xoxoxo**

_Meanwhile…_

"_What was that earthquake just now?"_,Spiderman asked shakily. Damn, he knew Japan was the most quake-often place in the world. But, God? Little warning next time?

"_I don't really know…"_,Yamato said, unsure whether the info his clone just sent him was reliable or not.

Spiderman's head turned as he heard a grunt. Sakura was trying to stand up, but she was still recovering from her earlier knock-out, so she was still unbalanced.

"_Sakura, I think you better not strain yourself."_,the masked hero said. Sakura partially ignored him and began to stand up, wobbly at first. _"Yamato-taichou…"_

"_Hm?"_,her captain responded, his face not turning from the forest across.

"_What's happening to Naruto? Do you know something about this?"_,she asked, worry clear in her voice, but also a hint of curiosity.

Silence was her answer for a minute or so. Yamato didn't look back at Sakura, but his eyes were closed. _"You don't have to worry, Sakura. I was picked directly by Lady Hokage for this very reason alone. Everything will be fine."_,he said reassuringly.

Sakura looked a little calmed down, at least that's what Spiderman saw.

"_It looks like Sasori wasn't really coming here after all…"_

Sakura turned back to see Kabuto, recovered from his earlier knockback courtesy of Naruto, walking closer to them. The pink-haired medic immediately set herself into a defense stance. _"Kabuto."_

Kabuto remained indifferent as he closed in, only to stop several meters away from the three. _"Sasori was never one to have his work done by other people. I can't believe he'd let Konoha for that matter to come on his behalf to this bridge."_

"_We didn't come on anyone's behalf. We've came to retrieve Sasuke, and that's all there is to it."_,Sakura hissed out.

Kabuto chuckled at the behavior of the kunoichi in front of him, _"Nevertheless, Sasori wouldn't give the chance of taking down Orochimaru-sama to anyone. He hates my lord so much, he vowed to be the one to take him down. Not that he'll be able to… For you to come instead of Sasori must mean that he's currently unable to come here himself. In other words…"_,he paused, leaving the rest hanging for the moment.

"_He's either being held captive, or he's dead already."_

Sakura looked straight through Kabuto's spectacled eyes, _"I'm sorry, but it's the latter."_

Surprisingly, Kabuto began to smile and chuckle.  
><em>"I'm happy to hear that."<em>,he said.

Spiderman eyes narrowed. It's not every day some guy would feel happy about somebody else dying. It's actually pretty rare. 'One thing for sure, this guy's sick.'

"_You seem to be the know-it-all kind of guy. Can I ask you a question?"_,Spiderman said, not fully understanding why would he ask for a permission from the silver-haired man.

"_What?"_

"_What exactly is Orochimaru planning to do with Sasuke? Is he going to make him his apprentice or something?"_

Kabuto stared at Spiderman, before the bespectacled man bursted out laughing. Spiderman visibly twitched as a vein literally popped out of his temple, _"What's so funny you four-eyed bastard?"_

Kabuto was by now holding his stomach, recovering from his earlier laugh. _"Hahah…oh, sorry. I kinda forgot. It seems you don't know anything, huh?"_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I guess it won't hurt to tell someone who'll be dead anyways. Dead men tell no tales, now do they?"_

Spiderman frowned. If this Kabuto is confident enough to think that he'll die, that means he's no pushover. He slowly dragged his right foot forward, taking up a stance.

"_Orochimaru-sama already made Sasuke-kun his apprentice. Though, his goal is not that whatsoever. He aims to take Sasuke's body."_,Kabuto said, pushing up his glasses.

'Taking Sasuke's…body? Is this a joke?',the masked hero thought.

He noticed Sakura stiffened. So it's not a joke after all?

Sakura narrowed her eyes as she looked at Kabuto. _"We'll never let Orochimaru take Sasuke's body! We'll take him back to Konoha!"_,she said, almost yelling.

Kabuto chuckled, and once again Spiderman had to refrain from asking what's so funny.

"_Well, I'd dare say, just try."_,Kabuto flicked out a strange-shaped kunai from his tool pocket. It kind of looked like a short scythe.

Sakura put up her fighting stance. She's not going to let the only way to Sasuke to get cut short. She's going to defeat Kabuto and she'll make him give Sasuke back!

Just as she was about to charge in, Spiderman stepped in front of her. Looking up, she gritted her teeth.

"_Step aside, Spiderman. He's mine!"_

Said person glanced from behind his shoulder. _"I'll handle it Sakura. You're injured."_

"_I can stil fight!"_,she yelled.

Spiderman face was now completely facing hers. He looked into her eyes, fire of determination burning inside.

But, then again, so does his own eyes. Even under the mask, his eyes shone.

"_I'm the one that's going to fight him. But if you insist, I'll need you to be my back-up. Yamato-taichou, be ready with long-range jutsu."_

Yamato nodded, amazed by Spiderman's ability to develop a plan according to each of their fighting capabilities.

But before anyone of them can make a move, another earthquake commenced. Spiderman turned to the forest again, now greeted with the sight of three similiar, gigantic, demonic-looking gates.

He didn't have enough time to comprehend what the gates were, because the next thing he knows, the gates were obliterated. A blinding light shone before another sky-tearing explosion followed.

This time, the shockwave carried to the bridge area, and the four people there were more than a bit shaken.

Kabuto looked towards the location of the monstrous explosions were made. _'That one earlier…was Orochimaru-sama's Sanjuu Rashoumon_ (Triple Rashoumon)_. I wonder what's happening that he had to use that…"_,he thought.

Just as soon as the explosions ended, several moments later something came flying towards them. Out of instinct, all of them jumped away. Suddenly, Sakura tripped just as she was about to jump away.

'_Damn, my injuries!'_

Luckily, Yamato was fast enough to catch her and jumped back with her. Had he wasn't fast enough, Sakura would got crushed by the flying thing.

On closer inspection though, they could see it clearly.

Spiderman's eyes widen, almost falling out of his sockets. On the crater, a dark-crimson figure was seen. An abnormally long sword protruding from it's stomach, only it didn't pierce the stomach.

But the most shocking fact, was the four tails coming from the bottom area of the figure.

There's no doubt about it, it's Naruto.

'Wha—what the hell is THAT?',was the only thought in Spiderman's mind.

'…**It can't be. Damn! It's Kyuubi's fourth tail transformation!'**

'This stench…why can I smell blood?'

'**Because that's what covering him right now. Naruto-gaki's blood is merging with Kyuubi's chakra.'**

'What? The bleeding's that severe and he's still standing?'

Kabuto smiled when he saw the four-tailed Naruto in front of him. He chuckled inwardly, maybe he could humor them a bit.

"_Looking more like Kyuubi than before, huh?"_

Sakura stared at Naruto, shock and sadness clearly etched on her face. _'Naruto…'_

Kyuubi-Naruto growled. Grabbing the sword, he then flung it easily to the side. The side, being where Spiderman, Kabuto, Sakura and Yamato were.

Spiderman crouched low under the overlength sword, while the others jumped over it.

The sword's end crashed into a boulder. And on the other side, Orochimaru with his lengthened neck was struggling to stay stable.

Spiderman knew better than to attack head on and bring Naruto's attention to him and the others. As much as the idea of having Kabuto as collateral damage sounds intriguing, he can't risk his two teammates as well.

"_GRAAAAAA!"_

The roar was deafening. It's not really healthy to the ears.

This isn't even Naruto anymore.

Kabuto chuckled, though the soft chuckle didn't escape Sakura's ears due to the short distance they were currently apart from.

"_Look at him. Does he really wants to save Sasuke-kun so badly that he'd turn into a monster like that?"_,he said, seemingly to no one in particular, but he actually pointing it to Sakura in particular.

Sakura just kept staring at the enraged Naruto in front of her, flashbacks of him in the past rushing through her mind.

~He was running towards her with a cheerful smile on his face, _"-Sakura-chaaaan!-"_,he said, with the high-pitched voice of his past self.~

~The time when he was about to depart to bring back Sasuke for the first time. She came to him, crying like a child she was back at those old times. She asked him… no, begged him to bring Sasuke back. Her eyes were full of tears so she didn't see the bittersweet smile on his face.

"_-Sakura-chan. I know how you feel… You like Sasuke, don't you? I understand that really well, it hurts… Don't worry about it!-"_

He flashed one of his confident grins and a thumbs up, _"I'll bring Sasuke back! It's a promise of a lifetime!"_~

~Said blonde was laying on a hospital bed. When she came in, she was shocked as she saw him bandaged all over his body. Almost made him look like a mummy. He looked pained when she came in, almost as if he just did something wrong.

She can't deny it. He failed on bringing back Sasuke. But she put on her most believable fake smile that would make Sai envy her.

Somehow, though, it didn't cheer him up one bit. He knew her too well. Far too well.

"_-Sakura-chan! I…I'm not giving up just yet! A promise of a lifetime…that's what I said right?-"_

He grinned again. His determined one.

"_-I won't go back on my words! That's my nindo, my ninja way!-"_~

Tears came to the corners of her eyes as the force of the flashbacks hit her, a pained and saddened look on her face.

"_Right now, he even lost himself. What a pathetic boy."_

Kabuto's words drove her over the edge. She hiccupped, trying to hold her sobs other than her tears as her tears were now already streaming down her cheeks.

She dashed forward, leaving Yamato and ignoring his orders to not go near the current Naruto.

She ran past Kabuto, who had a satisfied smile adorning his face.

When she ran past Spiderman, said masked hero was surprised. It was as if he was in a trance of some sort and her run broke it.

"_Naruto!"_,she cried. Her voice hoarse as her throat was holding the sobs.

"_Enough…that's enough! That's enough, Naruto!"_,she kept running. She didn't care if her tears were now wetting her face nor did she care that she'll have dried tear marks later.

"_I'll save Sasuke-kun for you! That's why…Naruto, just stop!"_,she didn't even care that she almost tripped which resulted in her stopping in her tracks.

Her outburst caught Kyuubi-Naruto's attention as his blood-red face turned to meet Sakura's.

Inside him, though, Naruto was having an inner turmoil.

**Naruto's POV**

I can feel myself burning up, the result of the rage of my memories. I could barely see anything in the darkness.

I've ignored the fact that I couldn't breath some time ago, the fire in my chest having my full attention instead.

In a need of light, my head turned to search around the area.

A faint light. But that's all I need. The darkness was driving me crazy.

I swam, or maybe I just think to move and let my mind do the rest.

Kyuubi's been silent, oddly enough. Though the fox's chakra has been leaking out since I activated his first tail, he himself hadn't spoken a word.

I shrugged it off and continued moving to the light, which gradually getting brighter as I closed in.

Figures, it's another freaking door.

I pulled the knob, opened it, and moved in. And then I was greeted by the sight of the one that held a warm place in my heart.

I figured I should consider making signs on each doors so I could know which memory bank I'm going to open, because I certainly didn't expect to see HER here.

A sigh escaped my mouth. Well, I can't really complain. Seeing Sakura, even if it's in my own memory, is a pleasant thing to happen.

A smile adorned her lips, and to me she looked perfect. After all, her smile is the thing that kept me going.

The memory was the one when I just got back to Konoha. When I laid my eyes on her, I felt a strange sense of…relief? I don't know, but for sure I felt kinda relieved when I first saw her that time.

Probably because I've missed her for so long. Or maybe I'm relieved to see her safe. Either one, it's a soothing feeling.

When she smiles, I can feel my goofy self come back, the goofy side being the one I had when I was just a kid.

The memory flew away, replaced by another one. This one looked familiar. It's the one from way back in my Genin days.

Back then…it felt so perfect. The memory played itself in my mind. I'm too tired to resist anyway, so I let it.

It was just another regular meeting on the bridge. It was our meeting spot. It was just a small part of my life-long memory. Kakashi-sensei being late; Sakura-chan grumbling about Kakashi-sensei's tardiness; Sasuke leaning on the railing seemingly unaffected, though I know deep down he's annoyed.

Yet, even though it's just a small part of my memories, it's one of the ones I cherished.

A warm feeling filled my chest. And for the first time in my life, I felt like I could jump back in time and live my life as it was back then.

It didn't last, though.

My mind played through another different sets of memories. This one was clear enough that I feel like I'm experiencing it again.

I see Sakura, in the past, fawning over Sasuke. A pang of hurt in my chest reminded me that I could never have her. Heck, I'm sure that even now, she still loves him.

Not that I blame her, no. I could never blame her for what she feels.

The memory fast-forwarded to another. This one shows me the times that she'd turn me down on every date requests I give her.

I don't get it. My mind was working on it's own, displaying some random memories without command. As if it's trying to tell me something.

It blitzed again, now to the part where Sakura was crying in front of me, begging for me to bring Sasuke back.

My chest began to feel a little knotted. Jealousy.

Damn I'm beginning to memorize the effects of emotions in a memory Hiro told me about.

'_**Please…please bring Sasuke-kun back.'**_,the sound was almost a mere whisper. But it hurt me, nonetheless.

I can't take it.

Deep down I know, I can't take it anymore.

The walls around me began to darken. Then a sound broke through the silence, _**'Was she worth it? Was she worth all of you troubles in the past?'**_

The voice…was not Kyuubi's. I'd know if it was his. No, the voiced sounded more like…me?

'_**You know you can't have her. Then why bother? She doesn't care about you.'**_

Shut up.

'_**Heh. Just look at you. All beaten up, for what? To bring her the bastard she loves? Do you think you'll be happy like that?'**_

What do you know?

'_**Admit it! You hate her!'**_

That's impossible!

'_**You hated her for putting YOU into trouble of bring back the guy SHE loves! You hated her for never returning your feelings! And you hated her for never giving a damn about you!'**_

No! I would never hate her!

The voice laughed maniacally. I couldn't take it anymore. Regrettably, deep down I know he's right.

Sakura never looked my way. She had always loved Sasuke, and never me.

The promise I had swore to keep was weighing me down. Once again, the earlier voice was right.

And deep down…I hated her.

The voice cackled loudly. But I didn't give a damn.

No… Nononono!

My body's flaring up. I felt like I'm on fire.

I don't like this feeling.

Go Away!

No!

GET AWAY FROM ME!

**Normal POV**

One of Kyuubi-Naruto's tail raised, and swung itself to Sakura. Sakura cannot move, nor speak. She could only stare at the incoming tail and hope for the best.

Spiderman had less than seconds to react. Immediately, he shot his web line to her.

But he knew he won't make it in time.

The tail had been aimed towards Sakura's head. An impact would instantly roll her head off, that's certain.

But it didn't stop, nor did it waver.

Then, just as the tail neared her, a hand made of pure chakra shot out of Kyuubi-Naruto's back, grabbing the tail and tried to restrain it.

Key word being 'tried'.

The tail still got her, but it's only a smack on her left arm near her shoulder joint. Sakura cried out in pain as the tail's chakra burned through her upper arm.

Yamato had his hands in a handseal, previously intending to restrain Kyuub-Naruto's movements before Sakura could get hit. The wood moved too slow for his liking.

The wood now had ensnared Kyuubi-Naruto in several wooden restraints on every part of his body that could move.

He cursed, and looked at the down Sakura on the front.

Spiderman's eyes widen under the mask in disbelief, _"Sakura!"_

The pink-haired medic's upper left arm was bleeding, though he couldn't see the scar as she was clutching on it painfully. Her face was shielded by the strands of her hair, but Spiderman could literally make out a pained face already just by looking at the injury.

He ran towards the girl, instantly grabbing her. But just as soon as he got there, a roar came out of Kyuubi-Naruto's mouth, which seemed to be filled with chakra since it's slowly breaking Yamato-taichou's wooden restraints.

The masked eye locked on the transformed eyes of the four-tailed Kyuubi cloak.

He had ignored the ringing of his spider-sense a long time ago. There was a rise in the volume of the ringing as the earlier chakra hand that held Kyuubi-Naruto's tail was losing it's grip. And now the tail was beginning to move forward slowly.

A growl suddenly escaped Spiderman's mouth, uncommanded and unintended.

He grabbed Sakura and jumped back several meters and placed her further away from Naruto's transformed state.

The tail chased them, elongating, intent on attacking them once more.

But Spiderman knew, this is not Naruto. Or at least that's what he's been saying in his mind since he saw his friend transformed.

The tail was still closing in, ominous chakra enveloping it.

Spiderman stood up in front between Sakura and the tail. He raised his hand as the tail was speeding towards him.

And just before it could pierce through him, he caught it, and his grip was so hard that Kyuubi-Naruto let out another roar.

Inside Spiderman's mind, Raibi was trashing about roaring in pain.

'**Fool! What do you think you're doing? I told you not to let Kyuubi's chakra to touch you!'**

The blue wolf's body began to flicker orange as his green eyes flickered to red.

'Don't worry, you wolf.',Spiderman said mentally.

The walls began to darken, and so did the cage holding captive the nine-tailed wolf. Said wolf looked around in surprise of what's happening.

He knew full well what's his host was planning, **'You…'**

Spiderman's mask was also darkening, and a faint glow of green emanated from the eye part of his mask.

Out in the real world, the same happened. And Spiderman's glove was turning black, his symbiote taking over.

'…**I see. Using your black suit to shield yourself from Kyuubi's chakra. Smart move. But why are you using my chakra as well?'**

'It's already the fourth tail. I don't think I can hold back.'

The mental talk commenced while Spiderman's symbiote takeover was happening. Once again, an animalistic growl escaped his masked mouth. As the takeover was finished, his right hand which was grabbing the tail ignited in blue lightning, shocking Kyuubi-Naruto as he pulled his tail back.

Spiderman's stance didn't falter, his costume was now all black as well as his overclothes. His glare burned through his mask.

"_Naruto! I know you're in there! Wake up!"_,he yelled, hoping to get some reaction.

Kyuubi-Naruto growled menacingly, his mouth slightly parting revealing the light inside it.

Spiderman growled back, with a more wolfish touch, _"Fine! So you want it the hard way, huh?"_

Both his fists ignited in lightning, but the chakra enforcing it was so large it began to make wild sparks to every direction.

The masked hero held his stance, his left leg now in front of his right and both of his arms bent upwards, resembling a boxer's stance. The wind began to pick up and blew his black jacket, giving a flowing gesture to it.

"_I'll wake you up no matter what, Naruto!"_

Sprawled on the ground, Sakura glanced through her heavy eyelids. In her eyes were pain, hurt, but more importantly, sadness.

And through the blowing wind, she muttered only a single word, a single name, silently, filled with regret.

"_Naruto…"_

**xoxoxo**

**Yeah I know, I was late updating…AGAIN! So sorry folks, but my modem was once again zitched. That's all the excuse I could say, really.**

**And yes, I did spin a few facts from the original story. Here, Kyuubi has no hand on Naruto's transformation. Except giving his chakra, maybe.**

**Also, there's the fact that I skipped the Naruto vs Orochimaru fight scene. Yeah about that, I felt it would only be a hindrance. After all, you guys already knew how it turned out in the manga. And this scene-skipping would continue to several particular scenes, so please bear it with me.**

**This chapter had sucked as I was losing my ability to find loopholes where Spiderman could fill in. But, personally I thought the cliffhanger was cool enough, if not a bit corny.**

**To me, the real chapter in the manga I'm using as the background of this one was the most NaruSakuish (I'm not even sure that that's a word-_-) of the entire manga. I'm not sure I could fill in my ideas of NaruSaku in this to perfect it.**

**And folks! The next chapter would be an epic one! So please wait for it and expect a grand battle between two jinchuurikis!**

**But before that, please R&R :D!**

_**Jutsu Description:**_

_Senei Tajashu_ (Multi Shadow Snake Hands)- A jutsu for snake summoners, since in fact they summoned a portion of snakes inside their sleeves. Actually an extension in numbers from the original _Senei _Jashu (Shadow Snake Hands). In Orochimaru's case, in this jutsu he summoned several large snakes from his sleeves and shoots it out to the target.


	22. Chapter 21

**Yo people! I'm back!**

**Before you read this chapter, I'd recommend turning on some fighting music. Well, epic battles need some epic background fighting music, right? The music's your choice, but once again I'd recommend something of my taste.**

**Try Time of Dying by Three Days Grace.  
>Or maybe Core Pride by UVERworld. Either two, though you can pick any song, anyway.<strong>

**So, while you enjoy the chapter, I'll sit back and relax while thinking just how much Harry Potter's Dementors kind of resembles One Piece's Negative Hollows. Or something like that.**

**To overnerd02: Aaah, a curious reader, eh? Well to answer your questions,  
>1. He will. Just keep reading, I'm planning for Spidey to use one of Raibi's tail shortly.<br>2. Akatsuki won't play a big role in this part (which is part 1, by the way). Though, I'm considering giving the robed organization a big play role in part 2. So you'll have to read and find out whether or not they'll chase after Spiderman.**

**And yes, to those who haven't read my note last time, I am planning to make a part two for this story. UBER-SWEEET!**

**Disc,: Naruto will never be mine. Seeing he's owned as a character by Kishimoto and a possible boyfriend by Sakura.**

**Sakura: WHAT? Why I oughta… (cracks knuckles)**

**SpinLord: Crap.**

**xoxoxo**

**Chapter 21  
><strong> 

**Jinchuuriki vs Jinchuuriki!  
>The Unexpected Outcome<strong>

The lightning on Spiderman's fist continued to cackle loudly. Both fighters haven't made a move since Spiderman's symbiote takeover.

And then, in a burst of speed, Spiderman lunged forward leaving a trail of dust and a small crater where he had stood just before. Right arm cocked back while his left trailed on the ground.

Kyuubi-Naruto roared one more time as he destroyed Yamato wooden restraints and shot out an elongated arm at Spiderman. His target, however, skipped over the red arm and began running on it. As the web-masked hero gained speed and closed in on the four-tailed form, his left arm made a wild swing to the right trying to hit the beast's face.

Unfortunately, one of the four tails shielded him from the oncoming fist. And the same happened to Spiderman's right fist straight punch, which another tail had blocked.

Both jinchuurikis growled, both trying to overpower each other. Spiderman was too preoccupied on strengthening his fists and arms to prevent himself from getting demolished by the tails, he almost didn't notice the sudden ring of his spider-sense. He looked down as he caught the sight of a clawed hand trying to severe the ties of his torso to his legs. Spiderman jumped up, dodging the claw attack. In a desperate attempt, he tried to make a handseal, only to find that his wrists were still being held by Kyuubi-Naruto's tail.

His eyes widen as another tail came into action swatting him away like a fly. He groaned as he scraped on the ground back to where he started.

"_Darn it!"_,he swore as he stood up once again. He was grateful that all the tail did was to push him away. Hell, the force of the tail swat was enough to make his arm bones feel the shock.

He was about to charge in again until Yamato called him, _"Spiderman! Don't do it. Charging in head-on is pointless. You can't beat him like that."_,he said.

"_Then what the hell am I supposed to do?"_,Spiderman shouted, frustrated.

"_I have a plan. It'll take time, but I can revert Naruto back to normal."_

Spiderman's hopes jumped at that, _"Seriously?"_

"_Just try to restrain him and divert his attention while I make the preparations."_,the captain said. He began to weave his hands through a set of handseals and stopped on one seal.

Spiderman's smirk was a mix of deviousness and the confidence of victory. _"All right, now you're talking!"_,he cried as he set his fingers in a familiar cross-fingered handseal, _"Kagebunshin no Jutsu!"_

Five clones popped into reality. In a silent command, four of them ignited their fists in lightning and charged on towards Kyuubi-Naruto.

Seeing the oncoming clones, the four tails behind the beast's back shot out aiming to skewer the closing clones. The clones maneuvered away from the tails dodging them with ease. When they see their opening, they brought their super-charged fists to punch Kyuubi-Naruto's abdomen.

To their surprise, four extra hands came out from his stomach area and began to shoot out in a spiraling motion, cutting all of the four clones.

'What does a guy usually do when he's up against an unlimited amount of energy?',Spiderman mused. He got an idea. With a nod to the single clone beside him, both of them dashed to Kyuubi-Naruto's front. Said tailed form readied his tail and hands to smash both of them, that is, until the two stopped and began to run around him in a circle. The speed the two was running was incredible. Soon, only a circle of blurring black shadow was seen.

Both ninjas sprayed webs at the four-tailed beast, enveloping him in layers of heavy webbing. As Kyuubi-Naruto was completely encompassed by the webbings, Both Spidermans stopped their circular running. But then, they both regretted that they did.

"_GRRAAAAAHH!"_

The webbing turned bright red before exploding due to the massive chakra that had been injected in the roar. The two twin ninjas were blown away as one of them poofed away while the other one scraped the ground.

Kabuto chuckled at the sight. It seems the strange outfit-wearing shinobi was stupid enough to think that he could take on a jinchuuriki. Glancing back at their team captain, he sighed, _'Well, their leader seemed to have a plan anyways…'_

He looked back at Sakura, who was still clutching her arm in pain. Well that figures, Kyuubi's chakra is contagious to other human beings. It wouldn't be a surprise if they who were infected by it got poisoned.

Walking nearer to Sakura, he raised his hand. Yamato saw this and changed his earlier handseal to another, cursing as his preparation was cancelled. But at least it might be for the better, he can't let Kabuto hurt Sakura, not when she's severely injured.

A wood sprouted from the ground in front of Kabuto and behind him, holding his hand and left foot in place.

"_I won't let you hurt her!"_,Yamato said, a hard look on his face.

Kabuto chuckled, _"It's not what you're thinking."_.  
>Yamato raised an eyebrow as Kabuto's hand engulfed in green light. Said green light travelled through thin air and towards Sakura. Yamato didn't stop it, he knew the chakra was a healing medical jutsu.<p>

The chakra began healing Sakura's injury, pulling out the Kyuubi's chakra and closing the wound. Sakura's painful writhering subsided as well, and her eyes fluttered open slowly.

"_We both have the same enemy. The pestering Akatsuki…I thought, if I help you guys now maybe you'll take down another Akatsuki member or two."_,Kabuto reasoned. Which was not a lie, by the way. He really thought that it's better to have one less Akatsuki member to worry about.

As the silver-haired man saw that the wound had closed perfectly, only leaving three twin scars on the arm, he retracted his healing chakra. _'The wound hasn't closed completely, but I can't give my service for much longer. Orochimaru-sama is reaching his limit.'_

"_Anyway, he's your problem. I'll leave it to you."_,he said, before he ran away via shunshin.

Yamato cursed under his breath, he had let go the source of information. Hopefully, he'll be able to encounter Kabuto next time for another shot.

"_Yamato-taichou, are you done yet?"_,Spiderman's yell brought him out of his thoughts. He replied, _"Just a bit more. Keep it up!"_

"_Easier said than done."_,Spiderman muttered. His attempts at restraining Naruto's transformed state was fruitless, though he managed to divert his attention away from the two others.

He had to be careful. Kyuubi-Naruto's chakra level was so high he could feel the heat just by getting close. And that's proof that said four-tailed form was not going to be wearing himself down for a long while.

He, on the other hand, has a limited amount of chakra. A huge amount of course, but limited nonetheless. He can't keep this up if the fight's going to be a long-dragged one. Plus, though he liked being the target, he never liked having his spider-sense to constantly ring. He was sure to have headaches after this.

Another tail lashed out to swipe him off his legs. A quick jump back prevented that, and an extra shot of impact webs was sure to gain his attention by aiming to the head. Realizing out of instinct that ranged attack won't do any good, Kyuubi-Naruto's right hand placed itself in front of him, ready to lunge forward.

Spiderman scoffed, _"Oh, finally! Some excitement!"_,he taunted, making a stance for hand-to-hand taijutsu. The beast launched himself at him with great speed, breaking the ground where he just stood. Nearing Spiderman, he then stood up on two feet and brought his right hand for a claw swipe. Spiderman ducked under the attack, and jumped as he saw a follow-up attack using a tail. Using the momentum of his jump, Spiderman brought a knee to Kyuubi-Naruto's jaw. It connected, and the beast howled in pain, before one of the tail capture the masked hero and slammed him down on the ground.

"_Gah! Darn you, Naruto!"_,he cursed his friend. The force of the slam was no light attack as well, he could feel his spine tingle.

He brought his right hand up for his jutsu, _"Thunder Zap!"_

Wild bolts of lightning flew from Spiderman's black-gloved hand. Unfortunately, his target jumped up to evade the bolts, and returned fire using his four-tails all of them launching towards their designated target intent to pierce him through.

With the grace of a capoeira fighter, Spiderman jumped away from the first tail making it hit the ground while skidding to a halt before vaulting above the second. The third and the fourth came together, and he jumped towards them, suicidal as it may seem. But at the last seconds he twirled his flight to dodge the third and brought up a hand to punch away the fourth, leaving the in-flight Kyuubi-Naruto an easy target.

He formed a Kagebunshin before said clone began spinning chakra on his right hand, forming an all too familiar orb technique. He kicked off his clone to gain speed before rearing his right hand, _"Rasraichi!"_

The lightning from the orb began to spin, surrounding Spiderman as he launched forward. With Kyuubi-Naruto's tail behind him stuck in the ground, a square hit was guaranteed.

That is if Spiderman was fighting any normal person. A chakra hand shot out from Kyuubi-Naruto's stomach, forming a fist and launched towards Spiderman.

Regardless, Spiderman slammed his Rasraichi to the crimson clad fist resulting in a sizzling noise in contact. The Rasraichi burned through the chakra fist, but just before he could hit Kyuubi-Naruto with it, it died down.

His spider-sense rang, warning him of another imminent danger. Spiderman could feel the tails returning to their owner's direction, and was aimed to go directly through his back. Cursing, he focused on his spider-sense to level up his reaction, activating the Spider Reflexes mode and slowed down time around him (or at least that's what he felt, actually he moved faster than the other things around him).

This allowed him to execute moves faster and more precisely than he could before and also heightened his senses and reflexes, thus the name. As the four tails closed in on him, he made an impossible, no momentum somersault to get above the tails. In the middle of the fall, he then kicked one of the tails to jump away from Kyuubi-Naruto.

He landed with fast taps to decrease his speed, cancelling his Spider Reflexes. His breath was labored due to the previous chain attacks and the activation for the Spider Reflexes. Overall, he's beginning to tire himself. If he had to activate that mode once more…well, he'd hate to think of what might happen.

Thankfully it has nothing to do with chakra exhaustion since the mode relies on his spider-sense and the natural power given from the radioactive spider bite. But in best case scenario, he'll be open for attacks.

Kyuubi-Naruto growled, which Spiderman replied with his own wolfish snarl. He didn't know why, but ever since he borrowed Raibi's chakra he had the tendency to act more animalistic.

He didn't have time to ponder it though, as the four-tailed form of his blond friend charged at him again. Spiderman stood his ground, intending to do a counter attack. Kyuubi-Naruto didn't stop. Instead, he sped up. Spiderman reached for the utility bag on the back part of his waist and pulled out two kunais with exploding tags attached to both of them.

He threw them simultaneously, and they exploded within contact with the ground covering Kyuubi-Naruto with dust cloud.

Spiderman sighed in momentary relief, which was cut short as his opponent jumped from the cloud to above him. Spiderman's eyes widen in shock as he predicted where his transformed friend would land. 'Oh God no…'

Ignoring what the effects would be, he once again activated the Spider Reflexes and dashed where his friend would land.

To Sakura's place.

**Sakura's POV**

A groan escaped my lips as I tried to look up. The scratch on my arm was still hurting, though not as much as before. I hate to admit it, but Kauto really did a good job healing my injury. I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts away.

Where's Naruto? I didn't see him. He was fighting Spiderman and I just couldn't bear to look. I know it's wrong, but I just can't.

I suddenly heard Spiderman cried out my name desperately. Curious, I wonder what's happening? I tilted my head up to see myself. A four-tailed figure descending onto me from the high sky.

Naruto…

I could see, even though his eyes were currently not his own, I could see him beneath it. I don't know how, but I just did. He's hurting, and how his eyes explained it to me scared me.

Anger, frustration, sadness, hate…I can see it all. I don't know if it's the Kyuubi acting up, or those are how he really felt.

"_Move it, Sakura!"_,I could hear Yamato-taichou yelling at me. I could feel myself chuckling inwardly. How can I just leave Naruto like that? I can't.

Not when I can see just how much he's hurting.

Not when he's actually in need of my help right now.

Not now, nor ever.

I began sitting up, that is until a shadow loomed above me. I looked up to see a spider insignia on the back of a familiar black jacket.

He has to get out of the way. I shudder to think of what might happen to him if he doesn't. _"Spiderman…go away…"_,my voice wasn't as stern as I intended it to sound. It wasn't even passable as a whisper, it's just a small whimper.

Without turning, he said while chuckling softly, _"Don't worry."_

He raised his right hand towards Naruto, _"I'll wake him up. Just wait!"_  
>I'm positive that I couldn't see it, but I knew he was grinning. Not that maniacal grin laced with malevolence. I could feel that he's genuinely glad. Of what he is glad of, I don't know.<p>

He's not going to back off. That's just the way he is, just like Naruto. Maybe that's why he's not budging. Maybe he understood him as well. _'Maybe I can have faith in him, after all…'_

I looked up at the back of his head, _"Please…"_

He nodded, seemingly knowing what I had to say, _"Just stay behind and relax."_

Naruto descended upon him, but Spiderman was ready, _"Come and get some! I'll knock you out 'till kingdom come!"_,he shouted, grinning.

"_Thunder Zap!"_

**Normal POV**

A thundering clap resounded through the air as what looked like Spiderman's most powerful Thunder Zap shoots out of his hand, electrifying Kyuubi-Naruto and halted his descent. The beast roared in pain, but the lightning bolts didn't stop zapping him.

Sweat poured from Spiderman's forehead and through the mask as he concentrated his chakra for this attack.

The movements Kyuubi-Naruto made were static, followed with several spasms of pain. Being stopped in mid-air, he was an easy target as he can't immediately put up his defenses.

Growling, he lifted his tail in effort to attack Spiderman, hoping that'll cease the lightning bolts.

The masked hero noticed this. He groaned, which turned into a battle cry as he lifted his left hand pointing it at the incoming tail. Lightning cackled around his left arm before he shouted out, _"Sith Scorcher!"_

What had been a one-armed Thunder Zap evolved into a double-handed lightning bolt blaster, which increased the damage and halted Kyuubi-Naruto's tail from piercing him through.

The howl of pain he let out was deafening, especially at close range. Sakura winced as she closed her ears. One of her eyes was closed in response, while her other eye watched the battle.

Yamato was still gathering his chakra, and he's nearing the sufficient amount he needed. Just a bit more…

The double handed lightning zap continued for several more seconds before Spiderman decided to fight at more distance. Inhaling and filling his lungs with air, he let out another _kiai_ before blasting Kyuubi-Naruto away by forcing more lightning out, pushing his friend back several good yards.

He's losing his breath, clutching his knees to regain some air was enough proof of that.

Sakura looked at Spiderman, then to Kyuubi-Naruto who was blown away in worry. _"Is he…"_

"_It's not over yet."_,Spiderman said through a set of labored breathing.

Sure enough, Kyuubi-Naruto was already standing on all fours. He looked kind of pissed, in Spiderman's opinion at least. All four of his tails aligned themselves in a half-circular formation behind him while the ends curved inwards.

Suddenly, pure chakra came out of Kyuubi-Naruto's chakra-laden body. Several were black and red, while others were transparent blue.

Yamato's eyes widen. It can't be… He had to be quick, or else every body here would be obliterated, or so the info his wood clone had brought when he saw it firsthand.

"_Spiderman, I'm finished!"_,he said as he felt the enough amount of chakra in his body.

"_Took you a damn long time, Yamato-taichou!"_,Spiderman called back.

"_I'll need to get close to him to do this."_,Yamato said

"_Leave it to me!"_,Spiderman exclaimed, punching his fist to left palm while grinning in excitement..

"_Wait!"_

Spiderman flinched at the sound before turning back to see Sakura's gaze, _"I'm going too!"_

Spiderman stared incredously at Sakura before turning to the matter at hand, which was Kyuubi-Naruto's pure chakra gathering. _"With all due respect, Sakura-sama, we're up against our comrade with addition of four tails. With your injury, I doubt you'll be able to fight."_, Spiderman said with mock humility.

Sakura completely ignored the amusing tone Spiderman used and pulled his shoulder to make him see her face, _"I can't just stand here and do nothing! You're not the only one that cares about Naruto!"_,Sakura said, well practically yelled, at him.

Spiderman HAD to flinch, otherwise he'd tremble at the scary-looking kunoichi's pressure. He was silent, until he turned towards Kyuubi-Naruto once again before yelling to him in a stupidly sing-song tone, _"Ya hear that, Naruto? Sakura said she caaaares about you! So wake the hell up!"_

Sakura's face instantly matched that of her hair color, if not darker. Sakura proceeded to bonk Spiderman's head, all the while gritting her teeth and having a crimson blush on her face.

Yamato sweatdropped.

Yup, Spiderman's the only person he knew that would make jokes in a life-death situation like this. This made him question his subordinate's sanity.

Kyuubi-Naruto growled before merging the pure chakra around him together turning it into a dark purple-ish color. Yamato regained his composure and sternly looked at Spiderman, _"Here he comes. We have to go now!"_

"_Ou! Let's go!"_,the three of them dashed forward, Sakura making a limp start but quickly gained her pace. They ran in a linear formation, with Spiderman in the front, Sakura in the middle, and Yamato in the back concealed from Kyuubi-Naruto's line of sight.

The purple chakra he just made was immediately swallowed by his jaw, and then his body suddenly inflated several times.

Spiderman's spider-sense kicked into high gear, warning him of the oncoming attack. Charging in, he activated his Raiken on both fists.

"_Spiderman, be careful. Naruto's using the same blast he used to break down Orochimaru's gate summoning, you'll turn into dust if you're hit by that!"_,Yamato warned from the back.

The masked hero cursed. So that's what happened when he saw the three gigantic gates exploded before. 'How can I beat something like that? I can't just dodge it. Sakura and Yamato-taichou might get hit.'

'**It depends. Do you think you can hold my chakra for a while?'**

'I don't see why I can't, but why would I?'

'**Use a jutsu, of course. I'll transfer my chakra to you, then use the handseals I'm going to show after that.'**

'Really? All right!'

Instantly after that, he felt Raibi's chakra going inside him. But it was so lightning-based his every nerve turned code red from the intense chakra.

'**Concentrate!'**

He did as he was told, then visions of handseals crossed his mind. He cancelled his Raiken and followed through the set of handseals that Raibi was displaying in his mind.

Ram, Dragon, Rabbit, then the mass chakra Raibi transferred surged through his arms. Blue lightning cackled into life as wild bolts shot out from his arms and merged together, taking a shape. It began shaping what could be discerned as the upper part of a dragon's head. Eyes, fangs, the snout and all. The masked hero grinned in excitement, ignoring the burning heat on his arms.

The dragon head has completely covered his right arm, making it looked like a gauntlet of some kind. _"Rairyuu no Tekken_ (Lightning Dragon Iron Fist)_!"_,he let out. Sakura was taken aback by the sheer chakra Spiderman was releasing, but kept going.

Unfortunately, Kyuubi-Naruto had begun his attack. Opening his mouth, he blasted all of the gathered chakra from his mouth, launching the _Guren Kitsune Houkou_ (Crimson Fox Roar) to the three ninjas. Spiderman looked intently at the approaching beam of chakra and put his right arm in front of him as a shield and charged right through. _"Sakura! Yamato-taichou!"_

"_Right!"_,both of them replied before jumping up at the same time.

The crimson beam connected with Spiderman's lightning gauntlet, the force halting his advance. Groaning, he took a step forward slowly, but he could see his foot being pushed too by the chakra blast and was dragged back, leaving a trailing imprint on the ground.

But still, he took a step forward again. Two steps later, he dashed through the beam ignoring the searing pain around him due to the Kyuubi's chakra.

He arrived in front of Kyuubi-Naruto, his beam still going. Spiderman's arm began to tremble under the sheer power of the crimson blast and he could see his jutsu being crushed slowly as the dragon gauntlet began cracking.

Growling, he summoned another portion of Raibi's chakra, groaning as a mild tinge of pain came to his body, and focused all of it into his left arm. In response, another _Tekken_ was made on his left arm. _"Eat this!"_

And that battle cry was no bullshit, as well. He did directly punched Kyuubi-Naruto under his jaw near his mouth in a crunching left uppercut, lifting him up in effect and cancelled his crimson beam. As Kyuubi Naruto was flying in mid-air, Yamato dived in after being thrown by Sakura with brute force. His right palm had a kanji for 'Sit' written on it, _"Hokage Shikijijun Jutsu: Kakuan Nyuttensu Ishu _(Hokage Finishing Jutsu: Saint's Heaven-Closer Palm)_!"_

Yamato slammed his palm to Kyuubi-Naruto's chest, driving both of them down until Yamato jumped back with his chakra still attached to Kyuubi-Naruto's chest like a rope.

Said four-tailed humanoid began to stand up again, until several woods with pointed sides sprouted out around him in a circular formation. Yamato's chakra rope began sucking away Kyuubi's chakra, thus sucking away the four-tailed cloak. A growl emanated from Kyuubi-Naruto as his power was taken away.

That growl was quickly replaced by a groan of pain. A human voice. Naruto's voice.

True enough, Naruto's face was once again visible now that the face part of the cloak is gone. But the sight was terrible. His face was covered with blood all over. His blood. Spiderman's eyes narrowed as he thought, 'So that's what I smelled before…'

Naruto began screaming, howling in pain like no tomorrow. Sakura trembled, which was so unlike her. The corner of her eyes began to water up again. It was terrible. The sight of her best friend being in pain and covered in blood was too much. _"Naruto!"_,she ran to her blond teammate, but was immediately stopped by Spiderman by grabbing her wrist.

"_Lemme go, Spiderman!"_

"_Even if you go there, what can you do Sakura? Just leave it to Yamato-taichou for the meantime. He'll take him back. You'll get your chance afterwards."_

He's right. What can she do? She'd think that she'll be able to calm him down just by being with him. _'But…he looked so painful. Isn't there anything I could do?'_,she questioned herself.

'_**Well, you can heal him afterwards.'**_,her inner self suggested.

For once, she agreed with her… umm, herself.

Naruto's scream died down, and he fell to the ground heaplessly. Sakura dashed to her friend's assistance and, true to his words, Spiderman didn't stop her this time.

As Sakura carried Naruto's bloodied body back to them, Spiderman turned to Yamato, _"That jutsu really took a toll on you, didn't it?"_

Yamato huffed, sweat had poured on his forehead for the last minutes, _"Yes, it did."_

Turning his head back to the pink-haired medic below him, his eyes began to soften as he could make out the dried tear marks on said kunoicihi's cheek. Her arms were trembling, too. Either from Naruto's weight, her injury, or the panic she's going through. Or maybe all of them combined, he didn't know. Therefore, he was amazed when she got into doctor mode and her trembling stopped. She began zipping off Naruto's jacket, leaving his black shirt exposed. And there was a necklace that Spiderman was curious about, though he couldn't deny it was one nice-looking necklace.

Sakura began to channel her healing chakra through medical ninjutsu as her hands glowed green. Naruto's injuries began closing and the blood began to dry up, such was the magic of medical ninjutsu. But the wound closing was too slow, much to her chagrin.

'_Usually the Kyuubi's chakra should've healed him right away…'_,she mused. Holding in her breath, she channeled more chakra to her hands, accelerating the healing process. Her chakra wavered, however, when she felt a sharp sting of pain on her left arm where the scar was.

She winced, but quickly regained her composure. The healing continued, but Sakura's mind was elsewhere.

Seeing her best friend like this was almost too much, and she was not able to help him in anyway. The healing jutsu her master taught her could only do so much. Furthermore, she couldn't even stop him…

"_Yamato-taichou…"_

Said team captain glanced at Sakura in reply. She tok his silence as his permission to continue, _"That jutsu you used to stop Naruto…can you… teach it to me?"_

Her voice was almost pleading, Yamato found himself pitying her. His eyes lowered to look at Naruto as he talked, _"That's impossible. In Konoha, I'm the only one who's able to use that jutsu, having the First Hokage's cell in me and all."_

He looked at his female subordinate, almost apologetically, _"The power to forcefully suppress Kyuubi's chakra… Well, me being an experimental 'clone' can't even hope to use it as well as the First could."_

Sakura nodded suddenly finding herself disappointed. Her team captain continued, _"The necklace that Naruto wears is a keepsake that the First once owned. It's a crystalisation of the First's chakra that only reacts to his chakra alone. That way, I'm able to control the Kyuubi's chakra._

"_It was said that why he was chosen to be Hokage was because this very reason. It is also the reason why I was chosen to be this team's captain."_

Sakura looked at her glowing hands, placed on Naruto's stomach to heal him as she looked like she was in deep thought. The blond was moving about in effort to hold in the pain. Was she that useless? Can't she be more useful for the team, or rather, her teammate and friend? Was she so far behind that she couldn't help them to get up when they fall?

"…_It's always like this…"_,she said, her voice a little bitter.

Yamato looked at her curiously. Spiderman tilted his head down to look at her while he was standing, also curious at what she had to say.

"_The things that I can do for Naruto…are small and insignificant!"_,she said again, forcing a small laugh, while it was painfully obvious to both concious men beside her that she was hurting. Her eyes were closed in the smile, but her brows tilted downwards on the outer edges.

Silence filled the air.

That is, until Spiderman decided to break it with a laugh. What's strange was that it was not a happy laugh nor it was one to hide his feelings like Sakura did before. No, his was plainly out of sarcasm.

He sat down beside the medic-nin, regaining his breath from his laugh, making his other teammates looked at him incredously. _"Wow, and I thought you're the smart one. Hahahaha!"_

Sakura stared at him as if Spiderman had just grown a second head. She flinched when Spiderman suddenly looked at her straight in the eye, _"Are you an idiot, Sakura?"_

It was not because of the dullness of the question, nor was it because of the question itself did Sakura let out an unintelligent _"Wha-?"_ in response. It was because of the reason of Spiderman's questioning that she did, which was non-existent. Or so she thought.

Spiderman pointed at her scarred left arm, _"Look at yourself."_

Sakura looked at where Spiderman had pointed, but her face remained puzzled.

"_Now look at what you're doing."_,he said again, this time pointing to Sakura's glowing hands, doing the medical ninjutsu.

"_Currently, you're healing someone, your best friend at that, while having to sustain an injury that almost severed your arm, which he had caused. And now, you're pushing yourself to the limit just for the sake of healing him. I don't know how you Asian do your maths, but back in my place THIS doesn't count as 'small and insignificant'!"_

Sakura stared wide-eyed at her new teammate, shocked at what he had found so amusing. She looked back at the laying blond male in front of her, _"But still…to me it feels like that!"_,she said, her voice rising.

"_And why's that?"_,Spiderman replied with equal fervor. In truth, she was the most stubborn girl she had met since Mary Jane herself.

Sakura bit her lip before she could yell at him, inwardly cursing herself for getting mad at Spiderman without any particular reason. _"He…Naruto had always do things by himself. He had always fought for the team. Heck, he'd risk his life to protect Sasuke and me! And I'm just… I'm not able to do the same for him…"_

Spiderman's eyes soften up as he hears out Sakura's desperate cries. All her frustration, all of her stress, he understood it. The pain of being so helpless and unuseful.

The same happened when Harry said his last words on that construction site. And she maybe didn't look like it, but if her tears were any proof, his beloved MJ felt the same, too.

And now, the same happens to a group of strangers he just met and befriended with. Ironic.

"_It's not how much or how little that you can do. What matters is how much you care about Naruto."_,Yamato suddenly said, diverting all attentions to him.

Sakura looked at him as he sighed, _"Sakura… I know just by looking at you. And I believe Spiderman does, too…"_, Spiderman grinned at this, _"In truth, you—"_

He was cut short by Naruto's sudden groan as the blond regained consciousness.

"_What the—Sakura-chan?"_,he let out as he woke up. As much as he liked seeing Sakura first thing when he woke up, it was still confusing to find her over him looking at him intently.

Everyone was relieved when they look to into Naruto's eyes to find his usual cerulean orbs straing back at them. Well, in Sakura's case, she's just glad he woke up.

"_Ugh…Ouch, my back hurts."_,and it seems his usual goofiness is back, Spiderman mused.

"_Naruto…"_

Naruto looked up to Sakura's emerald eyes, only to see that some tears were already forming, _"Huh? Sakura-chan, why're you crying?"_

Sakura doesn't seem to realize she was about to cry again until Naruto asked her as she looked startled when he did. She lightly laughed as she rubbed her eyes, _"No, nothing's wrong."_

"_AAAH! It must be that jerk Sai calling you names again isn't it? Like 'ugly hag' or 'monster strength'!"_,Naruto said, assuming yet the wrong scenario yet again. A vein popped on Sakura's forehead and an annoyed look came across her face.

"_Sai never called me 'monster strength'…"_,she said, trembling in anger.

A dumbfounded look etched itself on Naruto's face, _"Huh? Really?"_

"_Geez…you don't need to add another name for me, Shannaroo!"_

Sakura drove her fist into Naruto's stomach, who took the blow squarely. Spiderman sweatdropped, _"There goes his lunch."_

Sakura pulled back her fist from Naruto's stomach, leaving him clutching his center while kneeling on the ground. She realized something was missing. _"By the way, where IS Sai?"_

Naruto took a glance at the bridge. Shortly, he found himself dumbfounded at the wrecked state of the Tenchi Bridge, _'What happened to the bridge?'_

Yamato looked towards the forest across the bridge, narrowing his eyes as he got another bit of information from his clone. _"Right now, Sai's moving with Orochimaru."_

Traces of shock were visible on each of his subordinate as Yamato said that. Assumptions popped in their heads as numerous possible scenes played in their mind. _"What do you mean?"_,asked Sakura.

Yamato stood up and turned to the forests across the bridge, _"Follow me."_

**xoxoxo**

Shortly, they arrived at what could be described as a big-assed crater. And I'm not talking about the normal big-ass here. I mean it's extremely huge! Due to the violent nature of Naruto's fourth tail transformation, a huge amount of ground was taken away.

But it's not to say that the guy behind the crater-making has any say in this. Or at least, that's what he felt. He didn't seem to remember anything, judging by his behavior, _"The ground's still soft, huh?"_,said the blond while kicking the ground experimentally. He looked around the huge crater, inspecting the whole ground, _"The bridge's crashed, too. And the whole place is destroyed… Just what exactly happened?"_

"_You don't remember?"_,Yamato asked, now seeing what Jiraiya had said abut the short-term memory-loss after the transformation.

Naruto looked to Sakura, then to Spiderman for an answer, but both looked at him with their eyes down in reply, or at least Sakura was since Spiderman's eyes were in his mask anyway. Was it in disappointment? Sadness? Or was it in an apologetical manner?

"_Now that I think about it…why did I pass out, anyway?"_

The blond's obliviousness isn't helping one bit. Sakura was having a mental debate regarding telling Naruto or not. As a friend, one of his best ones at that, she almost chose to tell him. Key word was 'almost'. Eventually, she decided otherwise. She glanced at him apologetically as she said, _"Orochimaru knocked you out."_

Naruto's expression was one that people could say he's utterly annoyed and completely pissed, _"Really? Darn!"_

Both older male, Spiderman and Yamato, looked at Sakura in a mix of pity and understanding. Pity, that she had to lie to Naruto about that particular detail. But they both understood why she was doing this. Well, kind of. Spiderman didn't.

Opting to swing to another topic, Sakura looked down to some scattered objects on the ground, partly covered in a pool of ink. _"These are Sai's."_,she said.

Yamato also looked down to the scattered objects on the ground, saying, _"He left his scattered stuff…calm people like him can get nervous front of Orochimaru, huh?"_

"_Or maybe he's just overly clumsy about his stuff."_,Spiderman silently mused.

"_Taichou, you already knew?"_,asked Sakura as she continued to scavenge through the fallen objects, keeping an eye on her captain.

Yamato nodded, _"I left my wood clone here and kept on contact through a wireless."_

"_What happened to Sai?"_

"_It seems…after he talked to Orochimaru, Sai followed Orochimaru and Kabuto."_

"_What do you mean?"_,Naruto asked, not getting what Yamato was saying.

"_What were they talking about?"_,the pink-haired medic asked. Yamato shook his head, _"The distance between them and my clone was too big. I don't have a clue."_

Naruto held his chin between his index and thumb, making a thinking pose, _"What could they've been talking about?"_

"_Well, when you put an emotionless bastard with a snake-faced undead, there's a lot of possibilities on what they could've been talking about."_,Spiderman said, pitching in his thoughts.

Sakura turned to face Yamato, _"Maybe he was threatened and forcefully taken away."_

Another shook of the head from Yamato, _"No…it doesn't seem like it. He approached Orochimaru himself and gave him something…as if wanting Orochimaru to immediately accept him."_,he said.

"_Did your clone see what that something was?"_,Spiderman asked.

"_No, I don't think he did."_

Spiderman sniffed two or three times on the ground nearby the pool of ink, imitating a dog, _"That's funny, I've smelt this before somewhere."_

The other three ninjas' attention was now solely on Spiderman. Yamato took a step forward towards Spiderman, _"Where?"_

Spiderman began sniffing again, checking for any mistaken smell. Odd, he never remembered having an advanced sense of smell like this. The other people he knew having this kind of mutation is Wolverine, and he was sure he's not mutating. Raibi must've rubbed off on him.

"_It might just coincidence, but I distinctly remember catching the same smell in Konoha's Archive…"_, Spiderman took a pause as if setting his pieces of information into one, _"I knew that the paper there smells different. Whatever Sai was handing to Orochimaru, it might contain some information about the village."_

"_So what, he's betraying the village? I know he's an ass but that's impossible!"_,Naruto said. By logic, anyone that heard Spiderman's hypothesis would conclude that Sai would betray the village by handing that piece of info about the village to Orochimaru. But logics never worked well with Naruto, and he would deny that any Konoha shinobi, no matter how annoying, would betray their own village.

"_No…it's possible!"_

Naruto turned to Sakura, giving her a stunned look. Sakura ignored the look as she was having a thought about what Tsunade had said.

"_-He's the man who had competed against the deceased Sarutobi-sensei for the chair of the Third Hokage… He's different than the Third. He's a leader of a military fraction with a stone-hard attitude who thinks rationally. He's also Sai's master. He hates me, as a pupil of the Third and as the First's granddaughter…-"_,she had said.

'_Danzou…'_,she thought with much anger. Anger that she kept in check and didn't resurface on her face. She looked at Yamato and asked, _"Yamato-taichou, about the man named Danzou…"_

Yamato nodded affirmatively, _"I know about him…a man from the military fraction who was against the Third."_

Unlike the two, Naruto and Spiderman had no idea who this Danzou guy is. Well, only it was only Naruto that voiced out his curiosity, Spiderman opted to remain silent. It's not like he'd understand the specifics of the ninja village's system.

"_Who exactly is that?"_,the blond asked.

"_An old geezer who is Sai's master who's not quite fond of the Third's will."_,Sakura explained.

Yamato put on a thinking pose, _"Danzou's must be using Sai and intends to do something…"_

Naruto still didn't get where all of this means. And while Spiderman also had no idea of what the hell they were talking, he's a far scratch from an idiot. He could put two and two together and had a practical background of the whole conversation.

In short: Two people. One became a leader, the other became some kind of 'ruler of the underworld' thingy. The ruler guy amassed an army of expressionless, and intends to take down the leader.

Damn, the cliché-ness of the whole thing could've made him sue God himself.

Yamato broke off his thoughts as he came on a conclusion, _"It can't be…there's also a possibility…that Danzou gave Sai orders to do a secret mission outside of the team mission."_

"_So Sai isn't moving with the team to do our team mission, but to do another mission?"_,Naruto asked concluding his own thoughts.

Sakura nodded, _"It looks like it."_

Yamato lowers his eyes as he began thinking again. But the more he thinks, the more he had conclusions about a more frightening possibility. _"This might be just a proofless thought, but try to open your heart with your minds. Nothing is possible."_,he said.

All three of his subordinates looked at him questioningly. Yamato complied by continuing, _"Danzou might be planning to destroy the present Konoha."_

Naruto was the first one to react, _"WHAAT?"_

"_To bring down Tsunade-sama from her place as Hokage, Danzou intends to team up with Orochimaru and let him attack Konoha once again…"_

Sakura picked up Yamato's train of thought as her face began to look distraught, _"To make his ideal village after the fall of the Old Order…and then he'll be Hokage!"_. Yamato narrowed his eyes as he continued, _"The reason Danzou has only made a move now…maybe because he thinks that the negotiation with Orochimaru would go smoothly, considering he had failed on destroying Konha last time."_

"_Wha… No way… So, Sai's secret mission is…"_,Naruto stuttered, shocked beyond belief.

"_To get Orochimaru to accept him, and be the contact between him and Danzou…maybe."_,Sakura said.

'Now I understand why people never understood Hitler.',Spiderman thought. He shook his head, _"So what do we do now?"_

"_Considering the condition, we might need to get rid of Sai."_,Yamato said, earning a frown from his three subordinates. An ass Sai may be, but killing him is beyond what they thought they'd be capable of. After all, traitor or not he's a Konoha ninja.

"_Right now, my clone is chasing them, but we don't know what might happen… We have to go after them!"_

Naruto nodded, then stretched his arms, _"Alright! Let's g—"_. Suddenly, his vision blurred and he lost his balance. Next thing he knew was that he hit the ground. Hard.

"_Naruto!"_

Sakura immediately moved towards Naruto and kneeled beside him while holding his shoulders up, _"Naruto, are you okay! Naruto!"_

The blonde didn't answer. He just continued pouring out cold sweat all over his body and had his eyes closed, somewhat making him look in pain. _'His injuries haven't healed completely.'_,Sakura thought.

'Exhaustion from the previous transformation, huh?',Spiderman thought.  
><strong>'That's just a testament on how dangerous Kyuubi's chakra is.'<strong>,Raibi said, frowning.

Yamato remained silent as he stared at Naruto and Sakura. He knew sooner or later this would happen, but he can't do anything about it. Sealing a bijuu's chakra is one thing. Healing the jinchuuriki that had used the tailed beast's chakra is a whole different one.

But he can't halt the mission. Not when they were so close.

Sakura glanced, almost pleadingly, at Yamato, _"I know, we have to go after them, but…if Naruto's like this…"_

"_Then we'll leave Naruto here. He certainly has enough energy to go back to the village alone."_

Sakura snapped, _"If it was Kakashi-sensei, he wouldn't do such thing—!"_

"_Sakura-chan…"_

That voice stopped her. It always did. It's either that or the way he calls her. It always gets her attention, much to her chagrin.

Naruto shifted slowly, his one eye opening up slightly. He then continued, crinking up a smile, _"I'm…perfectly fine… I can still go on…!"_

'_Naruto…'_, she never liked seeing him like this. This stubbornness of his. He never gives up, not even when he needs to. That's what worries her.

Yamato looked down to the duo, his attention now solely on them both, _"I've once placed in a same team with Kakashi-senpai in the ANBU. I know how he is like…"_

Flashes of his past life showed on Yamato's mind, which he smiled on. _"'I won't let my friends get hurt.',he says casually. Heh, that guy of a senior."_

"_I may be his replacement, but I'm different from Kakashi-senpai."_,he said. _"You're not ninja-to-bes that had to be protected anymore. You're a shinobi of Konoha that one day would have to surpass Kakashi-senpai and heave Konoha's weight on your shoulders. There's a different between pity and spoiling."_

Sakura looked down, her eyes now transfixed on the ground. She hated to admit it, but her taichou is right. In a logical sense, he is. But still…this is Naruto. She'd do unlogical things for him, since he already did the same numerous times for her.

"_Sakura-chan…"_

She opened her eyes to look at Naruto, his blue eyes meeting her green ones. Surprisingly, he smiled, despite the exhaustion that was taking a toll on his body, _"Don't worry… I'm…I'm not going back! I'll bring back Sasuke…with my own hands! Believe it!"_

She closed her eyes as a painful feeling filled her chest. Taking a deep breath to quench the pain, which she realized was because she was holding her breath the entire time, she said, _"All right."_

Yamato nodded as Sakura helped Naruto to get up on his feet, _"Shall we get going?"_

The two nodded. Sakura let go Naruto's shoulder to let him walk on his own, which he did, but not without a limp start. Spiderman looked at him, the voice in the back of his mind telling him that this is not a good idea.

He agreed wholeheartedly.

But seeing the determination in the blonde's eyes, he didn't voice it out. He shooked his head, 'Even if I do, he'll never listen to me. That's just how he is.',he thought.

Inside Naruto's mind, he was having his own thoughts.

'_I won't stop. Not when I'm this close to you, Sasuke!'_

And so, the four departed…

End of Chapter 21

**xoxoxo**

**I don't know about you guys, but that battle scene is EPIC! I'll die happily if that was edited into a movie :D The reason I made this chapter was because I thought the manga had it wrong. Yamato's jutsu can't possibly be that instant-useable, judging by the complexity of the jutsu. And no way it would be so effective against a full-powered tailed jinchuriki. Thus, I made this chapter.**

**Anyway, before I update another one, I've noticed some texting errors in my chapters. I'm gonna rewrite it, but there'll be no big change. Just a switch between 'his' and 'her' and some missing letters and such. It also might affect my update speed. So I pledge to you readers out there, PLEASE bear with me!**

**Naruto: Just admit it. You're lazy.**

**SpinLord: No I'm not.**

**Naruto: Yes you are.**

**SpinLord: Sakuraaaa~ Naruto's picking on me again!**

**Naruto: Oh no…**

_**Jutsu Description**_

Sith Scorcher:- I know, I know. How uncreative of me… Some of you who had played Star Wars: The Force Unleashed on Playsation 2 should know what I mean. For those who doesn't, here's the explanation:  
>Spiderman's jutsu. An upgrade from his earlier Thunder Zap, which transformed into this double handed lightning-zapper, Sith Scorcher. Since it is double handed, more lightning could be shot out, meaning more targets could be hit. Essentially, this jutsu makes more damage.<p>

_Rairyuu no Tekken_ (Lightning Dragon Iron fist):- Spiderman's Raiton jutsu. He's actually able to do this jutsu using his own chakra, but in this chapter he already exhausted a good amount of it that he needed Raibi's chakra. A dragon head initialized itself on Spiderman fist, which covered all parts of his arm making it look like a big-assed gauntlet of some kind. This is not Raiken, mind you. Since when Spiderman uses Raiken, he uses a fist of supercharged lightning. Now that's differen from this jutsu. Useable on both hands.

_Guren Kitsune Houkou_ (Crimson Fox Roar):- Naruto's…well, it's actually Kyuubi-Naruto's jutsu. When he's in his four-tailed state, he can exploit his chakra by shooting several of them out of his body and mold it into one ball of chakra with density much more than any steel or diamond on Earth. After he swallowed it, Kyuubi-Naruto will shoot it out of his mouth in a crimson-colored beam of chakra. The result is devastating.

_Hokage Shikijijun Jutsu_:_ Kakuan Nyuttensu Ishu _(Hokage Finishing Jutsu: Saint's Heaven-Closer Palm):- Yamato's jutsu. Well, actually it's the First Hokage's jutsu, but it seemed that every Wood Style user is able to do this jutsu. This jutsu is particularly effective against Tailed Beasts, since the life force created from this jutsu purifies their deathly chakra to a certain extent. Yamato, being only an experimental clone of the First, can only keep up with the First to a certain level. Sakura, as we all know, asked Yamato to teach it to her. But that's impossible since she doesn't posses the First's cells. Poor her.

**Sakura: What's that suppose to mean?**

**SpinLord: Oh, nothing. It's just that I thought it's such a waste.**

**Sakura: I know! Why didn't Kishimoto made me a Senju descendant?**

**SpinLord: Why would you want to be one?**

**Sakura: So I could help Naruto, of course! Why is it that other people get to help him and I don't? It's so damn FRUSTRATING not being able to help—and what's with that damn grin, Naruto?**

**Naruto: *grins wider* I'm grinning because you just said a funny thing, Sakura-chan!**

**SpinLord: Really? Which part of her rambling had you amused?**

**Naruto: Sakura-chan has already helped me a lot. And that's already enough for me. It's kind of funny to see her frustrated over something she didn't have to do, but that's just Sakura-chan for you.**

**Sakura: *blush* Idiot…**

**SpinLord: O…kay. That's enough NaruSakuness for one day, ain't it readers?**

**(Readers shook their heads)**

**SpinLord: Figures. R&R people!**


	23. Chapter 22

**If any of you were thinking how did this chapter ended up being so late in updating, well I have my excuse.**

**Thanks to Naruto and Sakura's earlier squabbling in my previous chapter's bottom AN, I have an inspiration on making a small side story. It maybe won't look much, but do check it out if you're bored as much as I am. I mean, yeah I'm the author, but heck, even I get bored of my own stories if I lose my train of thought sometimes.**

**Disc,: I told you a hundred times I don't own Naruto! But if you don't believe me, I'll tell you a thousand times more.**

**Extra Note: I'm so sorry for the freakin' late update. Really; between learning, going to school, test-doing and girl-wooing (which failed miserably), I haven't got much time to actually open my laptop for a while. Can this chapter be enough for my apology? Please?**

**xoxoxo**

**Chapter 22**

**Onward!  
>Towards the Unexpectable Hideout!<strong>

The four Konoha-nin zoomed through the gigantic trees of the forest, going at full speed. They're currently in pursuit of Orochimaru and Kabuto, with an addition of a defecting Sai. Trees after trees were passed in high speeds, whilst Spiderman had his own style to pass the overgrown tree branches, web-swinging from one of them to another on a lower level.

Naruto, though exhausted, is holding up the best he can. The injuries were still there, but still…

His visions suddenly blurred out. His eyesight became hazy. He was so preoocupied with wiping his eyes he almost didn't notice a huge tree branch in front of him.

"_Naruto!"_

Had Sakura didn't yell at him to alert him, he'd probably crash unceremoniously to the huge tree branch. And at that speed and velocity, several broken bones were guaranteed.

(Again, that would be a dead giveaway of George of the Jungle).

To avoid the branch, Naruto somersaulted just before kicking off the wood of the overgrown branch, gaining even more speed. Sakura, on the back, sighed in relief.

What was she worried about? It's Naruto. Why should she worry?

She sped up, kicking the branch under her with more force. Seeing an overhead branch, she threw out her left hand to swing on it.

It was only when pain surged throughout her body from her left arm she realized it was a big mistake, _'My arm!'_,she winced.  
>In turn, her grip loosened and she fell towards the ground heaplessly.<p>

Naruto's eyes widen in horror, _"Sakura-chan!"_, he zoomed down holding out his hand to Sakura's hoping she would reach it in time. He missed his shot, and can't believe he missed it. _'No! Damn it!'_

It was a long way down. If no one grabs her now, she might die when she lands on the ground headfirst.  
>A speeding blur of green and brown richocheted from a tree in front of him and towards Sakura he went. Yamato grabbed Sakura, but he can't put his balance in time so now both of them are falling.<p>

"_Got your back covered, Yamato-taichou!"_,a shout resounded from someone below. It was Spiderman. He was clinging on a tree bark on the lower height. He shot a webline from his right wrist to stick it on the tree bark and used his left hand to grab the webline before jumping to the opposite side. His left hand spread the web line to the point it looked like a web net.

As he clung to the opposite tree, he readied his arm muscles for the impending weight. Yamato fell on the web safebreak with Sakura in tow, _"Arigato!"_

As both previously free-falling figures got down from the web net, Yamato looked down at Sakura's pain-stricken face, her hand clutching to her left arm.

He sighed before putting her down. Naruto landed next to them and breathed out a relieved sigh as she saw Sakura safe. _"Thanks, Spiderman."_

"_No prob."_,Spiderman waved dismissively. His attention was on Sakura and her injured left arm. He couldn't understand why did the pain remain that much for so long?

Naruto crouched down to meet Sakura's eye-level, _"Sakura-chan…"_,he said worriedly. His eyes drifted to the scar Sakura was clutching.

Sakura noticed where his was settled and looked at the same place, _"T-this…"_,she said, frantically looking for an excuse that she could use.

"_Orochimaru attacked me. It only hurts a little… it's nothing to worry about."_

"_Sakura-chan…don't push yourself…"_,Naruto said. It hurts him to see her hurt like this. If only he didn't pass out. . .damn.

Yamato narrowed his eyes at Sakura. She just had to lie again, hadn't she?

"_We'll rest up a bit here. Sakura's an important medic-nin in this team…we could say she's the key of the mission's success!"_,Yamato said as he stood up.

Sakura looked at her captain, a little annoyed, _"I'm fine! We should hurry up… You said so, too didn't you?"_

Yamato tilted his head as he smiled, _"True. But there's also a saying 'Being rash will make mistakes', right? Hurrying up and acting rashly is different."_

Naruto nodded, piping in, _"That's right! Sakura-chan is the most important medic-nin."_,Sakura instantly blushed as he said that, _"Plus her monstrous strength, you're a key member for the team Sakura-chan!"_,and the blush disappears just as fast.

"_I TOLD YOU, DON'T ADD THE MONSTROUS STRENGTH PART!"_,Sakura yelled, pointing and kicking at Naruto, the latter failing miserably because of the range factor. Naruto raised his hands in defense and in effort to calm her down, until Yamato called him, _"Naruto! Because of Sai's absence, we'll be partners in battle. We'll discuss about the attack patern, so come here for a bit!"_

Naruto did as he was told to and walked away following Yamato, leaving Spiderman and Sakura alone.

Spiderman glanced at Sakura, a disapproving look on his, uhh…face? Mask? Whatever, point was Sakura noticed the look and raised her eyebrow, _"What?"_

Spiderman sighed and walked closer to Sakura's sitting form, stopping mere feets in front of her, _"Why did you lie to him?"_

Sakura blinked, stunned by the question. She tilted her head and smiled innocently, _"What did I lie about?"_,she asked him back.

Spiderman frown deepens, _"Sakura…"_,he began with a menacing tone.

"_I only told him the truth! I was attacked by Orochimaru, and that's all there is he needs to know!"_,she said, pouting at the end.

Spiderman sighed again. He scratched his head and lowers himself to a seating position while his right knee was raised to put his right arm on, _"Why're you being so protective to him? At least you could tell him the truth."_

Sakura glared. First their journey was halted and now her time was wasted by Spiderman to lecture her, _"Protective? I'm not being protective to him!"_,she said, raising her right hand to heal her left arm. She immediately hissed painfully as the healing chakra entered her body, battling leftovers of Kyuubi's chakra on her arm.

Spiderman sighed again, _"My point exactly."_,he said, gesturing at Sakura's hiss of pain.

Sakura glared at him once more before looking down on her lap. Great, now she's getting angry at him again. _"You think it's strange, don't you?"_._  
><em>Spiderman quirked an eyebrow at Sakura's sudden mood change. At one point, she's being hostile to him by no actual reason. Now, she's kind of shying away from him.

"_Lying to Naruto? Nah, I don't think so. Being protective to your friends is normal. Question is, why?"_

The pinkette's eyes lowered and gazed at the ground, _"It's just that…I can't let him know about this. I can't ask him to bear yet another weight on his shoulder…"_

"_Sooner or later, he'll find out. And he'll have to bear that weight on his shoulder, whether he's prepared for it or not…"_,Spiderman said, looking to Naruto. Yamato was just telling him about how he had hurt Sakura, and Naruto's eyes widen in horror. He started sweating. The masked hero could see him glancing their way or more exactly, to Sakura. Sakura turned her head to see where Spiderman was looking, but instantly shot her gaze back to the ground.

She couldn't bear to meet his eyes.

Not when he's looking like that. Regret was written all over his face as he looked at her. He's terrified. At and of himself, he's terrified.

He didn't know that look troubled her. She also can't bear to look at him when he's like that.

Spiderman didn't break his gaze at Naruto, even as Yamato began talking again to him. He chuckled somewhat light-heartedly, _"That kid's gonna be Hokage someday."_

Sakura eyes darted to Spiderman's mask and she could make edges of a smile on the mask.

"_If he does become Hokage…no, WHEN he does become Hokage, you won't be able to protect him anymore. When he becomes Hokage, he'll be the one to protect the whole village…including you."_,Spiderman grinned with pride. He truly, sincerely believed it. He never saw anyone having any potential of a leader more than Naruto, to be honest. He turned to Sakura, _"So, a piece of advice. Don't try so hard protecting him. You can't shelter him from the world, Sakura. It's pointless."_

Sakura's gaze was still locked on the ground. This time, however, she was smiling.

"_You're such a hypocrite, Spiderman."_

Spiderman blinked, _"Pardon?"_

Sakura raised her face to face Spiderman's, the smile still on her face, _"If there was one thing you taught me before when we're beside the Tenchi Bridge, was that what I was doing for Naruto was not small and significant at all."_

Sakura looked at Naruto, this time his eyes were no more holding the regret and fear he held before. This time, it shines with sheer determination.  
>She had no idea that he just made a silent promise to not be controlled by his hatred anymore, but she smiled anyways.<p>

"_I still feel like I'm still not doing enough. But that's okay…"_

When Sakura turned her face back to look at Spiderman, he was shocked to see her eyes closed and her smile was a cheerful, innocent smile of a 5 year old, _"I'll do anything for him. I don't care if it's too big or too small of a thing to do, I will do it. If you're saying protecting him is pointless, than to hell with it because I will do it!"_

Spiderman was out of words. She just pulled the most unbeatable argument, an argument through sheer confidence.  
>An argument that would make people believes in her just by hearing her out. <em>"Are you sure you're able to? Worst case scenario, it might be you and him versus the world."<em>

Sakura smirked like a hellcat, _"Believe it!",__** 'Hell yeah!'**_,she and her inner self chorused.

Spiderman stared at her in silence before shaking his head, chuckling. His chuckle broke out into a laugh, a proud and glad one.

"_Alright, alright. I believe in you. You don't have to steal Naruto's catch phrase to make me trust you."_,he said.

Sakura just smirked, her eyes still closed and a light blush crept up to her cheeks.

'You don't have to worry, though. I'll also be with you two. And you also have your friends back in the village. In actuality, you both will never fight alone.',he thought.

'**That kind of reminds me of the Liverpool club.'**,Raibi suddenly said, leaning back on the walls of his prison.  
>'Actually, in case of Liverpool it's "you never walk alone". But hey, screw that, how did you even KNOW Liverpool?',he questioned mentally.<p>

Raibi answered by pointing at the door on the faraway left of the cage. Spiderman slapped his forehead muttering, 'Memory bank. I should've known…'

Spiderman smiled at Sakura before scratching his head again, _"…Sorry for calling you an idiot, Sakura. You're actually pretty sharp…for someone of Naruto's caliber."_,he said, adding a mischievous tone at the end.

Sakura's light blush grew redder, almost matching her red vest. She kicked Spiderman in the face lightly, _"Shut up!"_,she whined.

Spiderman snickered. The kick didn't even come close to his face.

Sakura pouted and reached into her utility bag beside her, _'This is a good time to read that book…'_. She heard her inner self snicker, _**'Ya know, that Spiderman guy already knows you like the back of his hand!'**_

She ignored her inner and opened Sai's picture book, picking a random page.  
>Her eyes widen as she accidentally landed on a freaky looking page, <em>"What the hell…is this book…?"<em>

"_What?"_,Spiderman asked curiously. Sakura's blushing demeanor was gone, somehow replaced with a worried and a slightly confused look. He clinged above Sakura to a tree she was laying her back on. The sight of the book sort of. . .unnerved him.

Naruto glanced to Sakura once again, ignoring Yamato's explanation on the team formation.

"_Oi, pay attenti—!"_

"_Guys! Come over here for a sec!"_,Sakura shout cuts off Yamato's words. Both Yamato and Naruto now walked towards her, noticing the troubled and utterly confused look, _"Sakura-chan, what's wrong?"_

Sakura gestured her head to the picture book she was holding. Yamato crouched to her right and leaned forward to take a peek, while Naruto did the same from her left side.  
>Spiderman had a good enough view by cling-sitting on the tree. (When I say cling-sitting, I mean he was clinging in a position that people would say he was sitting, judging by his the way his right foot sticks to the surface of the tree and the knee a little raised to place his left leg on.)<p>

Damn, it's good to be a human spider.

The page Sakura just opened seemed to be the middle of the book. She must've opened it randomly. But what scared Spiderman was that it made the book showed an unfinished part of it.

"Is this Sai's book?",Yamato inquired curiously.  
>"Seems so. But it's quite a strange book.",Naruto answered, having no more knowledge of the book than Yamato.<br>"This one…actually looks creepy."

On the right page of the mid-section of the book, was drawn a faceless man clad in ANBU uniform. The only thing that differs that person from just any ANBU was the black hair, and that's not even telling much about his identity.  
>Said person's right hand was stretched to the side as if holding something. Unfortunately, whatever the object was it was vague because right next to the unfinished picture was a blank page.<p>

'_This is probably what Sai meant by unfinished…'_,Sakura thought.

"_Hey…this book is Sai's, isn't it?"_,a curious Naruto asked while his eyes was locked on the book.  
><em>"We might learn something about Sai from this book."<em>,Yamato stated. He was also curious, moreso that it belongs to the enigmatic member of his team.

"_I think…this is a story of the two boys on the cover,"_,the young Haruno said, making a sweeping gesture with her finger on each hands,_ "The story started from both of the covers and ends up in the center."_

"_How does it start?"_,the masked hero above them asked.

Sakura flipped the book to start at the right side of the book. When she opened the page, she saw on the right page a black-haired teen clad in what she supposed a standard-issue black shirt and pants. No headbands, she wondered.  
>On the left page was another man bigger in stature wearing a mask –which Spiderman thought would've fit Hannibal Lecter more—and a kunai in hand. There was also a scarf trailing from his neck and blown back by the wind.<p>

Judging by their stances, they were fighting. 'Dang, this guy can SERIOUSLY draw!',Spiderman exclaimed as he looked at the drawing.

"_What is that?"_

Seeing that the only one that can answer Naruto's simple question was Sakura, said girl answered, _"Apparently, Sai drew some a picture book where the character fights his enemies."_

"_No exclamation marks or any kind of words for that matter, huh?"_,Yamato mused. This means it's strictly a picture book. Was Sai trying to say something through this book?

Sakura flipped open the next page. This one looks different, both in background and character. This time, the man who the black-haired character was fighting looked like an aged man wearing a battle armor similar to Chouji's and wielding a chain-scythe.

"_It seems that the character on this left page is different from the previous one. And the same boy on the right page stayed the same."_,Sakura said.  
>What she said, though, clicked something in Naruto's mind. His eyes widen a fraction as he caught a glimpse of something, <em>"Huh? Wait. Sakura-chan, turn the page back."<em>

Sakura looked at him as if questioning him, but did it nonetheless. Naruto continued, _"Just as I thought, the boy on the right page is slightly different on every pages. Look!"_,he flipped the page back and forth, _"He wears the same clothing and weapons his enemy wore before."_. True to Naruto's words, the boy holds the kunai which previously belonged to the mask-wearing man.

"_A story of a boy who fights and wins over an enemy, huh?"_,their team leader mused again.  
>He couldn't help it, the picture book WAS rather amusing.<p>

"_Is it the same for the next pages after that?"_,Spiderman asked. Sakura then checked the pages and the pages after them before nodding, _"Yeah. And it seems the same happens to the white-haired boy from the other page."_

"_Then…"_, Naruto began hesitantly, which surprised Sakura,_ "If both boys keep defeating their opponents…what happens in the end?_"

Sakura looked unsure herself. That's the only thing she didn't know about, _"I've thought about that the whol time, too. Sadly, though, the middle part of the book is unfinished, so I can't make any assumptions."_

"_Then there would be a possibility that they both might kill each other in a fight."_

Sakura was shocked as she looked up to look at Spiderman, _"What do you mean?"_

"_Naturally, both boys continue defeating their enemies along the way. Which means at some point they meet they'll fight and one of them would fall."_,Spiderman said.

Silence met the group as Spiderman's explanations finished. True, if they killed all their enemies, the same should've happen to one of them as one of them overpowers the other.  
>Naruto, hoping to change the gloomy subject, sad the thing that had been nagging him, <em>"Hey, don't you think the black-haired boy looked like Sai?"<em>

All members realized at that point that Naruto was right. _"So Sai was drawing himself?"_,Yamato asked aloud.

"_If so…then who's the white-haired dude?"_,Spiderman piped in.

At that point, Sakura remembered what Sai had said to her back at the hot springs.  
><em>-"Hey, can I take a look at it when we're walking?", an eager Sakura asked.<br>"No. It's still unfinished."_  
><em>"Also, I can't let anyone borrow it. This belongs to my brother."<em>-

"_Could it be… Sai's older brother?"_._  
><em>The way Sakura uttered it was as if she couldn't believe it herself. In truth, she didn't even know this book was linked to Sai so deeply until now. This made her wonder why would he leave this book back at the crash site.

"_Then…this story is…about Sai and his brother."_,she said again. If it's true that the draw book was about the emotionless painter and his brother, then was it possible that all the drawing in it was about their past.

Does that mean Sai confronted his brother, just like the middle part of the book?

Suddenly, a buzzing noise resounded from Yamato's head—more precisely his temple—as his intercom activates. Curious, he pressed the button to hear what his clone had to say.

Several seconds passed as the clone reported in, until Yamato stood up saying, _"It seems that my clone had found the hideout. Are we good to go?"_

All of them nodded affirmatively. Naruto glanced at Sakura worriedly; obviously he's still feeling guilty about that scar, before shaking his head.  
>Now's not the time to think about it.<p>

"_Then let's go!"_

**xoxoxo**

_Konohagakure no Sato…_

In the office of the Hokage, Tsunade could be seen working her ass off trying to decipher the seal given to her by her old comrade, Madam Web. So far, no luck has come to her research.

To her, this had to be the most complex seal she had ever seen second only to those created by the Fourth Hokage. Even with several seal master and researchers; which were Hyuuga Hiashi, Yamanaka Inoichi and Morino Ibiki, gathered around her trying to decipher the seal, they still haven't find any lead whatsoever to understanding said seal.

She even had to practically dragged the notorious pervy sennin, Jiraiya, out of his regular peeking spot to help her. _"What do you think, Jiraiya? Anything you understand?"_, she asked to her past teammate. Said white-haired aged man shook his head, _"I can't even begin to understand what the seal do, let alone how it works."_

"_So, absolutely nothing?"_

The frog hermit scratches his head, _"Well…there is one thing that nagged me when I first saw this seal…"_

Tsunade snapped her head up to look at the taller Sannin hopefully, _"What is it?"_

Jiraiya made another double-check to see whether his assumptions were right or not. He suddenly sighed, which almost prompted Tsunade to ask again before he said, _"The first thing I realized was that this seal wasn't used to seal anything in it since I don't see any caligraphs regarding the existence of a container. Rather, this seal seems to work more like a key."_

"_A key?"_, Tsunade asked. Jiraiya nodded, but it was still vague to her. _"You could say it's an additional seal that supposed to work with the original seal."_, he added.

Hyuuga Hiashi stepped forward closer to the seal laid down on the desk, _"Allow me to confirm it, Tsunade-sama."_

The Fifth Hokage nodded. As soon as she did, Hiashi activated his Byakugan. He scanned through the seal for several moments before deactivating his bloodline, _"Jiraiya-sama is right. The seal's capacity isn't enough to contain something inside it."_

Jiraiya nodded in response, _"Also, the yin and yang symbol used as the seal's switch is kind of unique. Though, I doubt it has any connection to how this seal works. Didn't Cynthia told you how this seal works?"_, he asked Tsunade, who looked as perplexed as ever.

"_No, actually. She only told me that we should use this when Spiderman's chakra became unstable. She also said something regarding the tailed-beast within him may be too much for him to control."_, she explained. Earlier before this, Tsunade had informed Spiderman's connection with Raibi and swore those in her room to secrecy, not wanting any mishaps happening because of that.

"_The jinchuuriki of the Lightning-Tailed Wolf…who would've thought he would bring so much questions."_, Inoichi mused.

"_Now's not the time to dawdle. Let's continue!"_, the Fifth leader of Konoha exclaimed, setting her fellow workers back to work.

**xoxoxo**

_Back with the team…_

The three of them; Yamato, Naruto and Sakura ran across the lake by water-walking. Spiderman, being the non-ninja he actually is, opted to websling through the forest beside them.

They travelled in silence. Now word spoke…well, not yet, anyway. That is, until Sakura's voice broke through the silent air, _"Naruto…"_

Said blond looked back from his shoulder in response. Sakura looked straight into his eyes and was kind of let down by the hesitant shine in his blue orbs. _'Even now, he's still…'_,she thought.  
>She shook her head, steeling her voice before saying once again.<p>

"_This time, we'll bring Sasuke back!"_

She didn't know her words just lifted a handful of weight off of him, nor did she need to. He turned his head to the front and stared at the scenery in front of him. Sasuke is only a breath away, so he's not backing out. Not when he's this close.

"_Yeah!"_

And onward they go…to the hideout where anything could happen.

End of Chapter 22

**xoxoxo**

**I know, ending's pretty well sucked. As I said before, I'm sorry for the late update. Probably some of you might think, 'Oh it's about damn freaking time, ya idiot!'. I'll take that as a compliment.  
>Seriously, I'd rather hear things like that than losing my readers.<strong>

**Naruto: That sounded rather gay…  
>SpinLord: Well, excuse me. I'm not saying that in that kind of way. That manner of use is only something someone called Uzumaki Naruko would use.<br>Naruto: You're mocking my counterpart?  
>SpinLord: When you say it that way, I guess so.<br>Naruto: WHY YOU-!  
>SpinLord: Shut up, Fishcake! R&amp;R folks!<strong>


	24. Chapter 23

**Yet another long update. Yes, again, sorry for the delay. I've had a stressful week just before this. What, with the semester test being a suck-up for five days straight, I didn't have time to write. Yippy-_-**

**Right! Now, time for some finger-breaking fanfic writing!**

**Ouch, my finger!  
>Naruto: Don't mind him, he just had a mental breakdown due to his school. Tch, teenagers.<br>Spiderman: Naruto, you're a teenager too, you know(sweat-dropped)  
>Naruto: And where the hell did you come from?<strong>

**Disc,: I never said anything about owning Naruto or Spiderman or both of them at once. So I'm gonna cry over it with **_**Nakushita Kotoba**_** as the background song T_T**

**xoxoxo**

Chapter 23

Enter: Uchiha Sasuke

Our Konoha quartet arrived at what seemed to be a vast area with giant rocks scattered everywhere.

Yamato's wood clone had got there earlier, having followed Orochimaru to this spot before. Sure, he was distracted by a false Sai corpse which turned out to be someone else's body covered in exploding tags. But anyway, here they are.  
><em>"So this is where they went?"<em> the real Yamato asked the clone. Said clone nodded, _"It seems their base is underground."_

"_And in that base…we'll find Sasuke."_ Naruto suddenly piped in.  
><em>"Yeah."<em> his pink-haired companion replied.

Spiderman stayed silent, oddly enough. He was thinking about some things that were bothering him since the journey began. But then again, maybe that's the effect of quoting Obi-Wan's "I've got a bad feeling about this" speech.

Naruto closed his eyes while taking in a deep breath, steeling himself for what to come, _"Okay. Let's go!"_  
>That was until Yamato stopped him by holding his arm in front of the blond Jinchuriki. At Naruto's questioning look, Yamato said, <em>"Wait for a second."<em>

Yamato then touched his clone's shoulder and suddenly the clone turned somewhat wooden, before getting smaller and smaller. It was to the point where it turned into a seed in Yamato's palm.  
><em>"Naruto, drink this before you go."<em> he said.

Said blond tilted his head, confused. Yamato took another two seeds from his vest pocket and handed it to the other two members, _"Sakura, Spiderman, have one for yourselves."_

"_What're these?"_ Sakura asked, unsure what to make out of the seed. Spiderman eyed his given seed cautiously.

"_Those are seeds that react to my chakra. If you let your chakra flow into it, I'll know where you are. It's some sort of tracking device. The same seeds were brought by Sai, in his clothes and his body."_

Sakura's eyes widen in realization, _"So that's how we were able to keep track of him so far!"_

"_Yes. I've slipped in those seeds in his clothes and his food when we're in the hot springs."_ he paused, chuckling, _"Now you see why would I waste my money to treat you guys into an expensive resort with an onsen and great food. Tsunade-sama's suspection was right, after all."_

He shook his head as he finished explaining, _"Anyway, you better drink that."_

Sakura nodded before putting the seed inside her mouth and swallowed. The same action was done by Naruto. Spiderman, however, being the eccentric guy he is flicked the seed upwards and opened his mask. He positioned his mouth under the falling seed.

The seed got in. But it choked him as well.

"_GOHOH! GOH _(COUGH, COUGH)_!"_ he coughed out. It ended in Sakura and Naruto patting his back to help his cough subside and Yamato sweat-dropping at the scene.

"_Sorry 'bout that. Shall we get going?"_ Spiderman said, his earlier choke gone.

Everyone nodded while looking at the webslinging hero strangely. Good thing he didn't notice the look.

"_By the looks of it, we're going to have to enter the base in turns. I'll go first. Then Sakura, Naruto and Spiderman will follow."_ Yamato said.  
><em>"How're we going to infiltrate?"<em> Sakura asked.  
><em>"Theoratically, we'll use a Doton jutsu."<em> the captain said.

Sakura nodded, _"Leave it to me."_

"_You know a Doton jutsu, Sakura?"_ Spiderman asked, his tone filled with surprise and anxiety.

"_Uhh, I wouldn't call it a Doton jutsu. But this jutsu relates with the earth. Watch."_ as she said that, she raised her arm in front of her. If anyone had a Byakugan, they could see that Sakura's chakra was concentrated in her arm. In a matter of seconds, her fist and forearm glowed in an eerie glow of green.

Spiderman sweat-dropped, _"Sakura, are you sure you want to punch a hole through the ground? That has no sense of stealth you know…"_

"_Of course I know it! And just because punching is my best attack doesn't mean that's the only thing I'm good at!"_ Sakura said, scowling at Spiderman's remark. Huffing, she touched the ground in front of her lightly while bending her fingers slightly, making the joint of her fingers touch the ground.

Right now, Naruto seemed to get interested as well as he moved to get a better look. Spiderman eyes widen, _"That's…"_

Sakura exhaled, and in turn, her knuckles hit the ground using her finger joint in a bow-like manner. Nothing happened. Suddenly, though, the ground began cracking and the cracks began enlarging. Sakura stepped back to see a hole was made from where she just hit her fist with, a proud grin on her face as she turned to a gawking Spiderman.

"_A…A one millimeter punch?"_, exclaimed Spiderman. Okay, now he was shocked. A punch that he thought only achievable by Bruce Lee was done by a GIRL! With PINK HAIR nonetheless.

'**Pink hair does not relate to anything in this, idiot.'** a rather large blue wolf inside Spiderman said.  
>'I know, but it's still an unusual color.'<p>

Sakura quirked an eyebrow at Spiderman exclamation, _"What's all the shock about? Doing something like that is easy. Medical ninjutsu does wonders in training, it also helped me improve my chakra control. Which, as you just see, has the result of the ability to control the chakra I extract to do that 'one-millimeter' punch, as you call it."_

"_Wow… just, wow…"_ the web-slinger breathed out, still having a hard time believing that his female comrade was just THAT skilled with her chakra control. He had seen her earth-breaking punches, yes, but she never shown a technique like what she had just used before.

It was then that Spiderman noticed something lacking.

He turned to Naruto, who strangely was smiling quietly at Sakura. 'Okay, now that's just creepy. Why's he acting so silent all of the sudden?' the masked hero thought. He cocked his head sideways into a thinking posture.

'He's obviously still feeling guilty about Sakura's scar… but to be emo in an instant? I really don't understand teenagers.' he thought again.  
>This time, his inner demon answered, <strong>'Don't look down on younglings, kid. You're still a brat, too.'<strong>  
>'Yeah. Compared to you, I'm way down age charter. But, seriously, Naruto's creeping me out.'<br>Raibi shrugged his furry shoulders and laid back on the walls of his prison, **'He'll get over it… your kind always does.'**, the bijuu said while pulling up a piece of…newspaper? And he began to…read?

'The fuck?'

Spiderman shook his head, clearing the image of Raibi sitting on a mental stack of hay reading a newspaper called the Daily Google (I don't know why the hell am I writing this down, but just read it anyways. Just take it as a mini-side joke-_-). He swears; if his imagination runs wilder Raibi would be playing Kingdom Hearts on Xbox.

Yamato stepped forward, eyeing the hole before he turned to his team members, _"Right, then I'll go first. Follow me when I give you the signal."_ he jumped in after the other three nodded.

There was a moment of silence after Yamato jumped in. None of them talked. Although, Spiderman noticed that Naruto was stealing hesitant glances at Sakura without her noticing it. When a whistle resounded from the hole, Sakura looked at Naruto—who instantly looked the other way pretending he wasn't looking at her—and said, _"Alright, then. See you down there, Naruto!"_ as she jumped in.

The blond only managed to give her a curt nod and an almost silent "Yeah" as his response. As Sakura disappeared into the dark hole, Naruto looked on randomly in front of him, not really thinking of anything but also thinking of one thing, _'Finally…I found you.'_

He broke of his trance as he felt a pressure on his shoulder. He looked behind it to see Spiderman's mask staring back at him.

The taller man looked at the blond one meaningfully, intent on saying something but not finding the words for it. Instead, he said, _"That's your signal, Naruto."_

Naruto nodded, and jumped into the hole. This time, Spiderman is the one left thinking silently. His thoughts were unfinished, though, since he heard a whistle through the air.  
>He sighed before jumping in himself.<p>

Spiderman skidded into a halt as the tunnel began to take a much more horizontal terrain. The three others had already waited for him. What had him intrigued was the fact that their path was blocked by a boulder.

'I wonder how that rock survived Sakura's punch…That's one lucky chunk of earth.' he thought.

Yamato's hand skimmed on the boulder for a moment. He then turned to his comrades, _"It seems like there's no way through it."_

There was a snarl coming from Naruto as his right hand twitched, _"Please…I can smash this boulder apart with my Rasengan!"_

"_Wait a minute! Using a technique like that will give away our position. If that happens, then we'll lose our stealth. We can't afford that!"_ scolded Sakura. Naruto looked back at her, silently agreeing with her reason.

"_In a place like Orochimaru's hideout, anything can happen. It's best if we stay under their radar rather than bursting in."_ Yamato said, still skimming the surface of the rock that was facing him.

Naruto looked at his team captain's back, _"Then…what should we do?"_

Yamato didn't answer for some seconds, his hands still doing the strange skimming thing on the boulder. Until, he stopped on one spot. _"Found it."_

All of his three subordinates looked at him quizzically, not understanding what he meant. Yamato continued, _"No matter how hard the rock is, there's only a little resistance on the cracked surface. All we need…"_ his finger turned into a wooden bark, enlarging until all part of his hand was transformed. Soon, the rock began to crumble under the pressure from Yamato's transformed hand.

"…_is to apply a little pressure, like this!"_ Next thing that happened, a square-shaped hole was made on the wall, big enough for them to go through.

"_Wow…and without any sounds, too. Damn, this is why I love ninjas!"_ Spiderman exclaimed in glee, only to be shushed by the rest of the team.  
><em>"Oh, right, sorry. Stealth mode, got it."<em>

Yamato rolled his eyes at the masked idiot, _"First, we'll track down Sai…"_ He closed his eyes, concentrating on the faint but clear chakra signature of his chakra seed implanted on Sai.  
>As he thought, the seeds were still on him and giving a barely non-existent chakra trail that even Orochimaru wouldn't notice.<br>_"Alright, follow me!"_

The other three nodded, and after a while they ran quietly—which I would later call as 'skipping', no matter how sissy it sounds—following their team captain.

**xoxoxo**

Not far from there, Sai was trudging along following Kabuto to his designated room. Though, from the looks of it it resembles a prison cell more. Nevertheless, it should suffice.  
>Kabuto put down the keys and the folder in his hands and brought out a matchbox to light the lone lantern in that room.<p>

"_This is where you will stay when you're off-duties. It's not much, but I take it you'll be okay with it?"_ the silver-haired man asked, though not expecting any answer from his new companion. And true, Sai just nodded idly.

In fact, he was too busy checking out the room he only noticed Kabuto leaving when said person spoke again from a half-closed door, _"I'm sorry, but I'll be locking the door from the outside. Well, you do understand what for, don't you?"_ Again, he didn't expect any answer.

As the door closed, Sai closed in on the door before sticking his ear to the door. As he heard the footsteps fading, he began checking every inch of the room.

ANBU rule number one-oh-four point one: always expect the unexpected.

Both satisfied and relieved that the room was not rigged with traps or the kind, he pulled out two scrolls before opening them both perpendicularly to each other—one crossing the other from the center.

The one underneath had one handprint and the writing _Te_ (jap for 'hand') on each ends. The one above it had a circular intricate and the writing _Fuuin_ (jap for 'seal') on the center.

Channeling some chakra to both of his hands, Sai then placed his hands on the handprint picture. Suddenly with a poof and some smokes, a black book appeared. To which, Sai then opened accordingly.

What he saw inside…was…

CLICK!

The door suddenly clicked; a sign that meant someone's trying to open the door with a key. Quickly as he can, Sai hid the black book inside his bag. Then he faced the door, expecting it to be Kabuto returning to say something to him. Or give him a sudden mission.

Or try to spook him.

Or borrow the bathroom to pee (wth that room has no bathrooms or toilets whatsoever!)

Or just try to piss him off (like that will happen…)

Instead, he saw Yamato.  
><em>"So you are here, after all."<em> the ANBU-turned-jounin said. If Sai was shocked that the whole team had found him so easily, he instantly switched it with the ever-present fake smile he always use, _"Amazing. You truly are a Konoha jounin, being able to find me here."_

Yamato's wooden finger, which previously turned into a wooden key, turned back to normal. Before he was able to say a single word, Naruto stomped forward and grabbed Sai by the collar and glared at the taller boy, _"You! Why did you betray us? Aren't you supposed to be a Konoha nin just like us?"_

Sai looked at the blonde blankly, _"So what?"_

The short comment only served to anger Naruto even more, _"You…"_

"_Naruto!"_ said boy would've sucker-punched the black-haired teen had Sakura didn't interrupted. Naruto growled for a bit, before roughly let go of Sai's collar. Sakura, for her part, rummaged through her pack to get what she had meant to give to Sai when she met him again.

She pulled out his drawn comic book, _"Here… This is yours, right?"_

Sai's fake smile faltered a little when he set eyes on the book. _"Yeah."_ he said while taking the book.

"_Sai…about your reason of defecting…why?"_

He didn't answer. Not that he was planning to, anyways, so Yamato took the liberty of answering it for him, _"To try and get Orochimaru's support…and destroy Konoha once again, right?" _

To everybody's chagrin, Sai smiled despite everything, _"No, it's nothing like that."_

Naruto growled before shouting at him again, _"I know that you're just fake-smiling again! And I already know that what you just said is a lie!"_

"_No, really. You got it all wrong."_ the ROOT member simply said again.

"_Danzou-sama ordered me to give myself to Orochimaru in order to be a…double-agent, you might say. I was to work under Orochimaru for the while, but I also give information to Danzou-sama about Orochimaru's plan and move._

"_My drawing can transform into rats and flies and they can defend themselves until they reach my master."_

"_Why would Danzou want to keep Orochimaru under his supervision? What's he planning?"_ Yamato asked, well, demanded.

"_Danzou-sama is a great man. It's a shame that he wasn't elected Hokage by the Niidaime. He had a great vision with himself leading the village. But in order to do that, he would have to make some adjustments to the village and its contents."_

"_By adjustments, you mean…"_

"_We'll make a few changes. There are still people in the village who wouldn't obey Danzou-sama's commands, and he can't have that. So he needed to remove them."_

And so it clicked in their minds. What Sai meant and what his betrayal meant, _"So…he's going to use Orochimaru to destroy Konoha again?"_ Sakura asked still in shock.

The tension in the room has been growing since they got in. Not that Spiderman could complain, it kept the others from disturbing what he was doing. He sniffed in the mixed smell in the room, his smelling ability heightened thanks to Raibi lending him his chakra.

The sweat of his other three teammates; the smell of Sai's paint; the smell of the candle lantern burning; the smell of cherry shampoo, no doubt that's Sakura; even the smell of…

Wait a minute.

He sniffed slowly, taking in the scent which was so familiar to him. Why in the freaking hell did he just smelt library?

Then it caught his attention, the beige-colored paper folder laid forgotten on the bed. Curious, he picked it up and he began to doubt himself less on his sense of smell. 'This… this is the same smell from the crash site back at the bridge!' he thought.

"_Not particularly destroy. If that happens, there wouldn't be anything left for my master to rule. We need Orochimaru to eliminate the potential threats in Konoha."_

"_Using Orochimaru to his advantage and try to destroy him when he finished? That's one bold plan."_ Yamato said; a little surprised about what Danzou was planning to do.

Spiderman turned to the painter and looked at him straight on to the eye, _"And you'd think the snake bastard will accept you with this as the payment, huh?"_ he said, handing the folder to Yamato to see. The team captain opened the folder and looked inside. Shockingly, it contained the files of several Jounin and ANBU ranked ninjas from Konoha.

He even saw a file on himself inside.

"_What is that?"_ Naruto asked, getting more than a bit curious of the files on Yamato's hands.  
><em>"Files on every bit of our high-ranking shinobi. So Danzou's trying to bribe his way to Orochimaru using this?"<em>

Sakura snapped her head to Sai, _"You can't do that! A lot of people will die if Orochimaru goes to destroy the village again! Don't you understand what'll happen?"_

"_Well…orders are orders."_ Sai simply stated.

Sakura's face contorted in shock once more, _"Sai…"_

"_One more thing. Sai is not my real name, it's just a codename given to me. I have no name, and as such I don't really exist in this world, so there's no point talking to me here."_

Sakura stared at him sharply when she started talking again, _"That book…it tells a story of you and your brother doesn't it? It tells about the fight you both have gone through when you were kids."_

"_The fact that you still keep it is proof that you still hold on to those memories. That book proves your existence."_

Sai looked down at the book in his hand, thinking about what Sakura said, _"This book…is proof of my existence?"_

Sakura continued, _"The reason you still hold on to that book is because you can't, or rather, don't want to forget about your brother. Am I right? You can't throw away your bonds with your brother."_

Sai seemed oddly stupefied as his blank look took a slight change, _"…bonds…" _

Naruto stepped forward to speak for himself, _"We've read the book for the most part. The only part of the book that wasn't completed was the middle of the book…"_ he frowned when Sai didn't give him any response. _"Just what exactly did you thought of drawing on that part?"_

Yamato had begun talking, _"It would seem that the middle part of the book supposed to be a fight between you and your brother.  
>"Sai, I know that you're from the ROOT since you first came. And I'm also familiar to the method they teach and use to kill emotions."<em>

Yamato's three current subordinate glanced at him as he continued, _"Your brother…was killed by—"_

"_No."_

Sai's sudden exclamation surprised them all. Unfortunately, it only took several seconds for Sai to put back his expressionless mask back on.  
><em>"That book…I intended to give it to my brother as a birthday present, but…he died because of an illness."<em> a pregnant pause before he continued, _"We don't really share the same blood, but he praises my drawings a lot. We've became as close as brothers since our time together. That's really what happened."_

Silence followed as Sai finished. It didn't sit well to any of the Konoha nins, but nothing does if you're talking to a guy who's face is unreadable. There's no tone of false words when he spoke, nor there is proof that what he said was true. He's just too unpredictable.

And his fake smile did nothing to help.

It was Yamato that broke the silence afterwards, _"I'm sorry Sai. Whether or not you're telling the truth, you've betrayed us. We'll apprehend you and bring you back to Konoha…by force if we need to."_

Sai was no idiot. He could see that he has no advantage over the four Konoha ninjas even if he is one of ANBU's best. He held his hands up surrendering.

**xoxoxo**

_Konohagakure no Sato_

_Hokage's Office_

A frustrated huff came straight out of Tsunade's mouth. The research on the seal had taken longer than she anticipated; now almost reaching six hours.  
>Even Hokage's deserved some breaks. And in Tsunade's case, she desperately needed one…and a jug of <em>sake<em>.

"_Oh well, I think we all deserve a break. We'll continue on this later, I'm going to take some aspirins for my headache."_ when she said 'aspirin', yes, she meant _sake_.

What a drunk.

Ibiki, Inoichi and Hiashi left the room accordingly, eager to get some rest after the mind-exhausting research. Surprisingly, though, Jiraiya stayed behind. His eyes still fixated at the seal on the scroll laid in front of him.  
>This caught Tsunade's attention as she never knew him to be the 'sit-and-learn' type. <em>"Something on your mind, Jiraiya?"<em>

"_Hmm…I still can't figure out the uses of this seal. Cynthia's getting pretty good at this."_

The Fifith Hokage chuckled, _"Well, it's been a long time since we met. I doubt she has been lazing about all these years. And we all know Fuuin jutsu _(Seal jutsu)_ is her expertise, there's no way she's still the same as she was back then. She is, after all, a sage."_

"_And sages are there to keep the balance of the world undisturbed, a befitting title and rank for someone of MY caliber."_ he had that stupid grin of his again. The ever-prideful Toad Sage. Tsunade smiled; at least some things didn't change. Jiraiya turned his head to look at Tsunade, _"By the way, when did she start her sage training? The only time I saw her off was in the middle of the war and she was back in a jiffy with these new powers of hers. Not even my training finished that quick."_

"_I don't really know…my guess is that she already started her training before that."_

"_And she got strong just by some months of training?"_ Jiraiya whistled, _"She is a special one."_

Tsunade chuckled before walking towards her office door, _"A woman with no clan who came from nowhere. Even Sarutobi-jiji was suspicious of her. Eventually, she rose up in ranks and was on par with us three back then. Remembering that, she's more than special."_ as she turned the doorknob, she herself turned to Jiraiya, _"I'm going out to look for some booze, care to join me? I could use a drinking buddy."_

Said hermit waved his hand back at her, _"Maybe later. This is just getting interesting."_

Now that's rare. Jiraiya turning down a drink invitation—which was actually a well-veiled date request, well sort of—so nonchalantly. Maybe he just got an idea about the seal, or something. Either way, she shrugged before leaving.

Left alone in the office with his study, Jiraiya began to review the seal once again.  
>A yin-yang shaped seal with intricate surrounding it; probably a seal activating spell, and the usage of the seal which served as a key to Spiderman's seal. Whether or not both seals will either correspond or break each other, he won't know until he sees the seal of Spiderman's tailed beast firsthand.<p>

"_I guess I do need a drink, after all. All this reading is killing me."_ sighing, he rose from his seat to go out himself and look for Tsunade. Hopefully, he would know where she is.  
>He took another glance at the seal. Then, realization hit his mind as his eyes widened.<p>

He didn't know whether there was an explanation for it or not, but why only now that he realized that the yin-yang shape…was reversed?

So, rather, it's a yang-yin seal...

**xoxoxo**

_Orochimaru's hideout, exterior…_

All four of Konoha ninjas plus Sai was outside, already apprehending the ROOT member with Yamato's Wood Style jutsu to bind him with several tree branches. Right now, Sai is in a sitting position, leaning on a big rock behind him.

"_I'm sorry Sai, but we won't let you escape again."_ Yamato said. Sai paid him no heed whatsoever, like always.

Naruto began cracking his knuckles, _"Now that that's taken care of…it's time to find Sasuke!"_

Sai stared at the blonde passively as he said that before lowering his head to stare at the ground instead. _"There's no point of doing that."_

Naruto looked at the apprehended painter in front of him, confused to what he meant. Sai took his silence as the sign to continue, _"I've met Sasuke."_

Naruto tensed up as his eyes widen in disbelief, and at the same time Sakura did, too. They hadn't expected for Sai to meet with Sasuke first.

"_I've seen what he's become like. He's dangerous. There's no point in trying to save him, he's too far out of your reach. I understand, Sakura-san said that you think of Sasuke like your own brother," _Sakura's face was downcast when she heard this. Truth was, she didn't even know I what she said was true anymore. _"Orochimaru is always around him. You would be cut into pieces and made into a test subject."_

Sai looked up once again to talk more, _"Why? Why are you so adamant on saving him? There's no one ordering you to, is there?"_

A smile crept up Naruto's lips and it quickly broke out into a grin, one that Sakura hadn't saw from him for a long time.

"_Years back, I used to hate Sasuke. We fight a lot and disliked each other a lot. But as time passes, I felt more and more comfortable around him. He's…the person who acknowledges me more than anyone. It's a bond that I've got with him, and I'm not letting it go."_

Once again, Sai seemed stupefied by the simple word that was thrown out of Naruto's mouth, _"Bonds…_

"_So…even if it's against Orochimaru…"_

Naruto's triumphant grin returned, _"If he cuts off my arms, I'll beat him with a kick! If he cuts off my legs, I'll bite his face off! If he cuts off my neck, I'll beat him with a glare of hatred! If he takes my eyes out, I'll beat him with curses!"_

Sai clamped up that instant. Naruto's words just shut him up effectively. He said all those with confidence in every word. There's no sense of fear in him.

The blonde smirked, _"No matter what happens…I'll take back Sasuke from Orochimaru!"_

Spiderman had a feeling of pride welling up in his chest, 'He sounded like how he was supposed to. It's a good thing he hasn't gone all emo.'

The other team members smiled, happy that Naruto had returned to his normal self.

"_All right, now that that's taken care of, let's go. Spiderman, I trust you can handle Sai while we're_ _gone?"_ Yamato asked. It has been decided that Spiderman would be left behind to guard Sai in case he tries anything funny. Spiderman didn't complain, much. He just said that it'd be boring if he only had to stand there and try his best to make at least a one-sentence conversation between him and the almost-always silent Root member in captivity he's guarding.

"_You betcha! Just leave this to me, Yamato-taichou! He's not going anywhe-!"_

Damn, he hates how people tend to cut his words. On instinct and as warned by his spider-sense, he shot a Thunder Zap upwards to repel a rain of kunai. _"Get back, everyone!"_ he ordered.

The others moved accordingly, jumping a few feet back. Spiderman followed after a second later as he saw a shadow descending towards him.

The shadow he saw was in fact Kabuto, and he's poised to attack, "So, you're here after all." he said.

Naruto gritted his teeth in annoyance. Yet another problem he had to face, _"Every single damn one of them…!" _he said as he dropped into battle stance.

Kabuto smirked. He didn't seem to take Naruto's angered tone as a threat, even though he's alone. _"Sai, looks like you got yourself screwed, huh?"_ he said instead, crouching beside the dark-haired boy as he whispered, _"It doesn't seem like you're betraying us. I guess I'll help you out…"_

His hand glowed in an eerie light of blue—the general color of chakra—before he cut the wooden restraints binding Sai in half.  
>'That's one clean jutsu…' Spiderman thought as Sai stood up.<p>

Then he saw another thing that caught his eye; two of Naruto's shadow clones standing on the rock behind Kabuto and Sai molding a Rasengan.

'Just when did he make them…?'

One of the clones lunged at Kabuto, Rasengan in hand, attempting to drive it to his head. Kabuto was faster though, or maybe he had realized the clone's presence, and did a back kick to counter the clone and his Rasengan. The clone dissipated into a cloud of smoke as he took a hit.

"_There's no use to fight."_ he said, standing straight again.

"_We won't know unless we try!"_ Naruto said back, eliciting a quiet laugh from Kabuto as he talked again, _"Wrong. I was talking about Sasuke. He's not the same Sasuke you know anymore. People grow up, Naruto-kun. People change. Sasuke right now is nothing like the Sasuke you've known as your teammate."_

If anything, Naruto got even more pissed off. He was ready to lunge at the silver-haired bastard anytime. Surprisingly, though, the next thing that happened had him glued to his spot.

Kabuto realized it, too. Only thing was, he realized it a second too late.

Sai locked Kabuto's shoulder with his arms, restricting any hand movements the Sound-nin might try. Kabuto turned his head a little, the absolute shock still visible on his face, _"What is the meaning of this, Sai?"_

Sai stared back at Kabuto's demand, _"People change…then so do I. But other than that, there's one thing I want to make sure of first."_

Naruto stood there; eyes wide and looking so dumbfounded like the others. _"Sai…you…"_

"_Bonds. I want to make sure of that."_

Yamato was the first to snap out of the shock as he moved his hand into his Wood Style hand seal, _"That's it, Sai! Keep holding him like that!"_

Moments later, Kabuto replaced Sai's previous position as the one being apprehended and held by a couple of wood restraints.

"_Now that it's REALLY settled, shall we go?"_

If Yamato tried to hide his irate tone, he failed miserably. Spiderman had to sweat-drop as his team captain looked rather annoyed, which was rather out of character for guy like him.

Naruto turned to look at Sai questioningly. Just what made Sai turn sides again this time?

Sai looked back at him and, as if sensing the other's confusion, said, _"The bonds you said before…I felt like I need to know more about it. There's just something about it I need to figure out. Maybe, if that happens I'll be able to understand what drives you to get Sasuke-kun back."_

Naruto looked at him with wide eyes, still unable to comprehend what he was saying. But one thing he knew, Sai's not being a bastard. And for that, he smiled and nodded.

"_All right, then. Spiderman, I'll leave Kabuto to you. Orochimaru might try to find him, and if he does, whatever you do don't engage him. Let your chakra flow and we'll come here."_

Spiderman grinned, _"Roger that, Yamato-taichou!"_

With that, the others dashed off leaving Spiderman with Kabuto who was sitting on the ground with wood binding him.

"_You know, for a new guy you look like you don't feel any pressure even on a mission like this."_ Kabuto said, breaking the silence.

Spiderman turned his head to look at Kabuto, surprised that it was he that started the conversation; he's usually the more talkative one, Spiderman is.

"_Well, you can't say a hundred percent no pressure for sure. It's just that I've faced situations tougher than this, so I'm probably used to it is all."_

Kabuto chuckled darkly, which spooked the hell out of Spiderman. Even Green Goblin's chuckle was not that dark.

"_Then you certainly don't know Sasuke."_

**xoxoxo**

While Spiderman was playing good cop bad cop with Kabuto, the other four Konoha ninjas—at least now Sai is counted as an ally again—dashed to different locations through the dark alleyway that was Orochimaru's lair.

The team had been split into two; Yamato with Sakura, and Naruto with Sai. At first, Sakura was both surprised and disappointed that Naruto didn't complain with Yamato's decision, unlike the last time the same decision was made.

'_What the hell's wrong with him? Usually he'd complain about being placed in the same team with Sai…'_ she banished the thought just as fast as she began thinking about it. She was being paranoid. After all, she had seen Naruto smile at Sai before, and she could tell that he's being more open to the other boy.

Back to the present time, Naruto opened another door of the seemingly never-ending rows of rooms he had opened. And, just like the other rooms before, it was empty.

"_There's nothing here, too."_ he said, breathing heavily due to the prolonged running he and Sai had endured.

"_This is the last room on this floor. Let's go to the next floor!"_ Sai said, his own breathing just as heavy. ANBU member he may be, but even he got his limits.

"_Yeah!"_ Naruto replied, but just as he took three steps away from where he previously stood, he collapsed; the exhaustion taking a toll on his body.

"_Naruto-kun, take it easy. We're searching in two teams; you shouldn't push yourself too much."_ Sai suggested.

Panting and sweating like hell, Naruto tried to rise on all fours, _"Like hell I'm giving up now! I'm just a breath away from Sasuke!"_ but as fast as he regained balance, he collapsed once again.  
><em>'Damn it. The wounds from Kyuubi's transformation are still there.'<em> he mentally cursed. He felt pain everywhere throughout his body; effects of his four-tailed cloak transformation.

Sai stared at the blond while trying to control his own breathing. Shaking his head, he then hoisted Naruto up and dragged him towards a wall. He himself sat down beside him. The surprising thing, though, was that after that he started chuckling.

"_Really…you're really similar…"_ the dark-haired boy reached for his bag to grab something, leaving Naruto curious to what he had to say.

"…_to my brother."_ he finished, holding his small picture book so that the part with his brother's picture was aligned with Naruto's face. _"He's an idiot that likes to push his limits as well. Also, his penis…"_

Naruto had to scoff at Sai's bad attempt of an insult. Sai ignored it and tilted his head to actually look at both Naruto and his brother's picture, _"Well, you know the rest. But then again, he IS somewhat identical to you; if not the fact that you're slightly more idiotic. Maybe you'd get along with him well enough…"_

Naruto looked straight at his male companion's eyes, once again curious to Sai's pause. This time, he saw that said person's eyes widened as if he just realized something.

He didn't have enough time to ask him what's with the look, because Sai quickly took grab of his portable painting tools and made another picture on the picture book he's holding; the middle part of the book.

"_That's…"_

"_I remember now…what I meant to draw…"_

When finished, the previously blank side of the book's middle part held a picture of a smiling ANBU member with straight, bluish-hair. The other page of the book's middle, which previously held the picture of a faceless ANBU member, had the face of a smiling person, too.

And at the joint of the two pages, there's a picture of a pair of hands holding together.

"_This is it. The picture I want my brother to see so badly."_ and at that moment, Sai let his emotion break through his emotionless mask. He sincerely smiled.

Naruto, finding that finally the emotionless ANBU member had cracked, grinned widely at him.

But, it didn't last.

"_My, my. So you've once again turned sidesss…"_

That hiss…Orochimaru was there. Both Naruto and Sai shot up to their feet out of shock.

"_Now, Sai. Which side will you choose?"_

Naruto growled. He then stood in front of Sai and held his arms to his left, _"Sai, go now! Leave him to me, I'll hold him back! I'll leave Sasuke to you!"_

"_But—"_

"_GO!"_

Sai straightened and regained his composure, _"Right. I'll find Sasuke…and bring him back!"_

Sai dashed backwards, leaving Naruto alone with Orochimaru. The Snake Sannin chuckled darkly, _"Oh, so you want to take me by yourself? Pity…do you think you can beat me?"_

Naruto formed his finger into his favorite cross-shaped seal, _"Definitely. And I'll take back Sasuke from you!"_

**xoxoxo**

On the other side, Yamato and Sakura were on their own search for Sasuke. Their luck is the same as Naruto and Sai's; in which they opened countless doors only to find the room empty.

It was then that Yamato felt a surge of chakra coming through him. A signal that came from the chakra seeds he gave to his subordinates. He turned to Sakura, _"This is Naruto's chakra. Something's going on, this way!"_ he said to her.

Both then dashed to where Yamato felt the chakra coming from. Sakura, for her part, was getting more and more worried for every minute that passed as they ran. _'Naruto…be safe!'_

**xoxoxo**

The fight was short-lived. Naruto didn't stand a chance against one of the Legendary Sannin in his weakened state. One by one his clones began to disappear, leaving him alone against Orochimaru.

"_What's this? Done already?"_ Orochimaru taunted, _"Where did your earlier determination go to?"_

Panting, Naruto began to back off slowly. He got no other choice; it's either running away or charging forward in a suicidal attempt to take his opponent down. And judging by his current condition, he's in no shape to do the latter.

Thankfully, reinforcements came just in time. Yamato and Sakura arrived, skidding to a halt as they reached Naruto's side. _"It's Orchimaru again."_ he heard Yamato mutter.

Said ninja, for his part, scoffed. Now that his beloved specimen had interrupted him yet again, there's no way he could attack. _"Naruto-kun…I'l let you live for the time. In return, I expect you to at least take out one more Akatsuki member. I'll be on my way now; I have some unfinished business with Sai."_ As he said that, Orochimaru disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Releasing the breath he didn't know he was holding, Naruto turned to his two teammates, _"Thanks. You came just in time."_

"_Where's Sai?"_ Sakura asked, realizing that her other teammate was missing.

"_Right now, he's on his own looking for Sasuke. We better catch up before Orochimaru does!"_ the blond answered, not exactly looking at her as he picked up his bag from where he left it before he engaged Orochimaru.

"_It'll take all my chakra, but I'll look for him with Tajuu Kagebunshin. Yamato-taichou and Sakura-chan, go look for him that way."_ Naruto said, pointing at the opposite direction from where he's facing.

Sakura noticed the other bag lying beside Naruto's. The other thing she noticed was that Sai's picture book was on the ground, and she was shocked to see that the middle part of the book was finished. _"This is…"_

Naruto smiled at her, _"He remembered. What he meant to draw…was his brother and him."_

"_They're both smiling…"_ Sakura said, smiling warmly at the picture.

"_When he drew it, for the first time he actually _smiled_! It's a smile straight from his heart! "_

Sakura smiled at Naruto's obvious cheeriness. She was glad that he's still the happy-go-lucky idiot she had known.

Yamato, on the other hand, began inspecting Sai's backpack. He had been pretty suspicious about Sai, and for that he need to search for any connection between him, Danzou, and Orochimaru. He'll need that, he could tell.

But rather than something that he could use as evidence, he stumbled upon a curious black book inside the backpack (no, I know it would be funny, but the book is not Death Note). He opened the book, fearing for the worst.

His fears were proven right.

"_What…this is…!"_

Naruto and Sakura turned to their captain upon noticing his sudden exclamation of surprise. _"Yamato-taichou, what's wrong?"_ Naruto asked. Sakura was as curious as Naruto was, but she didn't voice it out.

"_Come look at this."_ his captain said.

Naruto did as he was told, and looked at the book Yamato carried.  
><em>"This was in Sai's bag. It's a list of targets that the ANBU were supposed to kill. In other words, it's a bingo book."<em>

"_A kill list?"_ Naruto asked curiously.

Sakura pointed at the page where the picture of the target was crossed, _"What does this cross means?"_

"_It must be a sign that means the target is taken care of…"_ Yamato said. His eyes narrowed; he had a bad feeling about this. His hand flipped through the pages. Sakura looked confusedly to him as she said, _"How come Sai had that in his possession?"_

Yamato partially ignored her question; he had one thing that was nagging his mind and he had to confirm it. That's when he came across something so shocking that his already wide eyes widen more at the page he just opened. His subordinates noticed the gesture, and when Yamato told them to look at the page, they were shocked as well.

Uchiha Sasuke was on that list.

"_Wha…this is…"_ Sakura stammered, her mind going blank.

"_Why the hell…is Sasuke's name is on the list?"_ Naruto asked as his mind unable to believe what his eyes had seen.

Yamato's eyes narrowed once more as he stared hard at the picture, _"It's not crossed yet. So that's what it means!"_

Naruto looked at his team captain, dumbfounded, _"What does that means?"_

"…_Sai. His mission was not to be the contact between Danzou and Orochimaru. His secret mission…"_

Both Naruto and Sakura had their breath held in their throat in anticipation of what Yamato had to say. It can't…it can't be. Can it be?

"_Is to kill Sasuke."_

All three of them stood still. Yamato's words hung in the air and for a moment none of them said anything.

"_No…No way! There's no way Sai would do that! I mean, he said that he's going to get Sasuke back. And for the first time, he smiled from his heart! He's different…than before…"_ his argument lost its motivation as each of the words passed.

"_If all that was just an act to deceive Naruto…!"_ Sakura said. Her eyes were downcast as she was filled with regret of trusting someone like Sai.

"_If he's the owner of this bingo book…it's possible. Look here."_ Yamato said, tilting the book a little so both of his subordinates could see it. _"This picture on the page next to Sasuke's…he's a Kirigakure Jounin who shows an offensive nature to Konoha."_ said picture was of a man clad in a Kirigakure Jounin vest and bears a Kirigakure insignia on his forehead protector.

"_Is Sai being used to kill all endangering factors to Konoha? And that Sasuke is one of them…"_

Naruto stared silently at the book, his eyebrows creasing down and his frown deepens each passing seconds. Sakura, for her part, looked like she just realized something. _"He uses smiles to achieve his goal. That's right…when I hit Sai before…"_

The things he said to her came back into her mind. _"-Smiles can be used to fool those around us, even though it's a fake one. I read that in a book.-"_

She shook her head, clearing her mind of those thoughts. When she did, she saw Naruto's stern face glaring at the ground before looking up at Yamato. _"Danzou's goal is to destroy Orochimaru's new vessel, which is Sasuke. For that purpose, Sai intends to get closer to Orochimaru. Not to betray Konoha…but for Konoha. It's a befitting plan for a militaristic man like Danzou."_

"_We have to find Sai, immediately!"_

**xoxoxo**

In another place still deep within Orochimaru's lair, another one of the Konoha ninja is closing in on a room.

Using every bit of his stealth training, he opens the door slowly. Beforehand, he already drew two ink snakes for assistance. Said ink snakes were now closing in on a sleeping figure lying on a bed about ten feet from the door. As the ink snakes hovered above the figure, they were stopped by a voice, _"Who…?"_

"_Found me out, huh? But I've taken precautions."_ Sai said, not surprised in the slightest that the figure was awake.

"_What is your purpose?"_ asked the figure again.

"_I'll…_

"_Bring you back to Konoha!"_

The figure lied still, unmoving. Sai smiled a little before continuing, _"At first…I came here intending to kill you."_

Memories of what his teammates had said to him came back to his mind.

"_-He's…the person who acknowledges me more than anyone.-"_

An image of a pink-haired girl came, _"-Because… he thinks of Sasuke-kun like his own brother.-"_

His thoughts came back to the yellow-haired boy who shook his believes, _"-I'll do anything to save that friend. Even though if I have to be in the same team with you.-"_

"_-No matter what happens…I'll take back Sasuke from Orochimaru!-"_

"_-It's a bond that I've got with him, and I'm not letting it go.-"_

Then the image of his picture book came with the cover facing him. The picture of his brother and him was shown, and it made him smile a bit.

"_I want to protect the 'bond' with you that he wants to protect so badly even it costs his life."_

The figure said nothing. But even so, Sai could hear the slight annoyance in his voice when he talked, _"Bonds…?"_

Sai looked up at the figure as he spoke again, _"Just for that trivial reason…you interrupt my sleep?"_

**xoxoxo**

"_Fushi no Jutsu _(Immortality Jutsu)_? Haven't heard of it before."_ Spiderman stated bluntly. He had been talking to Kabuto after finding that he hated silence more than psychotic spectacled scientists. Not to be misunderstood, he for one didn't like the idea of having Kabuto as a dialogue partner at all. The feeling is mutual between the two.

"_Of course you haven't. It's a highly-classified kinjutsu and so far only Orochimaru-sama has used it and succeeded. It grants the user eternal life; giving the soul unlimited amount of time."_ Kabuto said, amused.

"_Pfft, please. I've seen other people trying this stunt and the 'ruler of the world' speech too much. This immortal jutsu thingy won't be able to sustain someone for eternal life, even though his soul might be immortal."_

"_Sadly, you're right for that part,"_ a chuckle escaped Kabuto's mouth, _"but Orochimaru-sama had that part covered. His Tensei Ninjutsu grants him the power to transfer his soul into another body, leaving his older body to rot."_

"_And he's planning to use Sasuke as his next body, huh?"_ this time, Spiderman chuckled back, _"That's too bad. Naruto will take Sasuke back from Orochimaru. He'll be nothing but a snake with a torn skin when that happens."_

"_Kukuku…"_ came the cark chuckle that Spiderman had begun to get annoyed with from Kabuto, _"You're underestimating Sasuke's will."_

Spiderman would've raised an eyebrow attempting to taunt Kabuto if not for his mask. Instead, he raised both of his eyebrows out of shock when an explosion went off followed by a tremor. _"Okay, what the hell was that?"_ Spiderman exclaimed, surprised and more annoyed that he was caught off-guard by the explosion.

He turned to look back to where Naruto and the others had gone off to. A large plume of smoke rose from the direction of the base. 'Something is going on there…'

He heard Kabuto scoff, _"Sasuke, huh?"_  
>It was pretty amusing for the spectacle-wearing man that Sasuke's bad mood of being waken up would make something as troubling as this.<p>

'_I guess his sleepy head attitude has its uses after all.'_ Kabuto thought.

Spiderman stiffened. If Sasuke is involved in that explosion, that means either Naruto, Sakura, Yamato or Sai had found him. He snarled; his spider-sense is tingling. Frustrated, he made a shadow clone and left it with the duty to guard Kabuto

"_I'll be back. If you move even an inch from your place, you'll be getting a new haircut."_ He threatened the apprehended Kabuto, who replied that threat with an arrogant scoff.

Spiderman dashed towards the arising smoke, jumping over obstacles which blocked his way.

'Call me Obi-Wan, but I _really_ have a bad feeling about this.'

He heard his tenant laugh, **'Funny. I thought I'm the only one getting senile.'**

**xoxoxo**

If Spiderman felt the tremor of the earlier explosion, Naruto felt it tenfold and it almost threw him off of his feet.

"_What's going on?"_ he said shakily.

Sakura scanned the hallway they were going through. She then saw a cloud of dust flowing through one of the turns in the hallway. _"It came from that direction."_

"_It's Sai's chakra!"_ Yamato said after recognizing the chakra signature.

Naruto steeled himself. Once again, they dashed through the hallway going straight to the direction where the smoke came. As they turn on the intersection, they saw that the room it leads to was completely obliterated. Sunlight was visible and it shined. Sai was there, standing in the middle of the rubbles.

"_Sai…"_ Naruto muttered.

Sakura took notice of Sai's presence. So she ran towards him. Sai noticed her presence a bit too late; she rewarded him with a left-handed choke. She glared sharply at the dark-haired boy, _"You! Just what are you after! Are you satisfied with betraying us all the ti—"_

"_Sakura, huh?"_

A voice; Just a mere voice was able to stop her. But that's not just it. She recognized that voice. Could it be? What she was afraid of was that it was just a false hope.

Turning her head to face the higher ground where the voice came, she was greeted with…

Her grab on Sai loosened. Naruto, who was watching the whole affair closely, raised an eyebrow questioningly. He was confused of what made Sakura stop. That was, until…

"_Sasuke…-kun…"_

The word she uttered; when she said them, the yellow-haired boy knew who it was. There was only one person that Sakura would look at with such a strong gaze and a longing look in her eyes. Only one.

Him.

He didn't remember when he began running. He even barely noticed that he tripped and fell to the ground. His brain didn't even register the pain at all.

He couldn't let it all slow him down. Not when he was just a fingertip away.

When sunlight attacked his eyesight, he looked up to where Sakura kept her eyes on. There, clad in a different uniform. White, long-sleeved shirt with an open chest part; black pants which was tied with that idiotically large purple rope like what Orochimaru used; he wears an armguard which is also a glove. He looks different, but still the same hairstyle and the same kind of look in his eyes…

"_Sasuke…"_

Sasuke's eyes didn't waver. But, come to think of it, the Uchiha was close to no emotion about things like this. _"Naruto, huh…so even you're here._

"_Does that mean Kakashi is here, too?"_

It was at that time Yamato decided to step in as if sensing that his presence is needed. _"Unfortunately, I'm not Kakashi. But I'm his stand-in. Now, team Kakashi will bring you back to Konoha."_

Sasuke stared at the four people beneath him looking almost bored. _"Team Kakashi, huh…"_

Sai raised his _wakizashi_, poised to attack at anytime. He couldn't let Sasuke catch him off-guard again, not this time. This time, he had to be ready for anything.

Unfortunately, Sakura took his preparation as an offensive rather than a defensive. Her mind is still clouded by the thought of Sai betraying them again, _"Sai! You…!"_

At seeing Sai raised his blade, Sasuke's attention was diverted to said boy reminding him of his presence. _"So…he's the guy that's supposed to be my replacement. Putting in a weakling in a weak team like this…I would've expected that from Konoha._

"_Not to mention this one keeps saying something about protecting the bonds between me and my previous teammates."_

Sakura's eyes widen as her expression changed from seething anger into a genuine surprise. She turned to the Root member beside her, muttering, _"Sai…"_

Said black-haired boy spoke up to Sasuke, _"Actually, I haven't got an idea of what this 'bond' really is. I never got the emotion to understand it. But Sasuke-kun, you have once. Surely, you understand what that bond means?"_ his last sentence was more of a question than a statement, him being unsure of it and all.

Sasuke stared at his replacement for what felt like an eternity. When he spoke again, his cold stare remains, _"Yes, I know about it. That's why I aim to sever that bond."_

That gained multiple emotions from everyone he was talking to (sans Sai). In the case of Naruto, he seemed taken aback. To hear someone he considered his brother saying something like that was rather heart-wrenching.

"_There's only one bond that I won't cut…"_ Sasuke said, his finger twitching invisibly under his long-sleeved shirt. _"The bond with my brother called hatred."_

Naruto stood, rigid. He began to shake in anger when he tried to speak up, _"Then…"_

Sasuke spared a glance at Naruto's shaking figure.

"_Back then…"_

Memories of their battle at the Valley of the End came to the blonde's mind; their faithful battle which he lost.

"_Why didn't you just finish me off? Are you expecting to cut off our ties just like that, Sasuke!"_

For a second, Sasuke's eyes turned solemn. That sight went unnoticed by the others as they were looking at Naruto, concerned. The solemn look on his face disappeared faster than it had appeared. _"The answer is simple, Naruto. I didn't kill you back then because I didn't intend to. It's my whim that left you to live."_

Naruto's face churned up in confusion of Sasuke's riddly dialogue and he grounded his teeth against eachother. He glared at the figure that is his long-lost teammate when suddenly he disappeared from his line of sight.

It took him by surprise. It almost made his heart jump out of his chest when Sasuke reappeared beside him; his left arm slung to Naruto's right shoulder from the front.

"_Naruto..."_

His presence was discovered when he uttered the blond's name. Sakura, who lost track of Sasuke's presence for a while, turns her head so fast in shock towards the source of the sound.  
><em>'Fast!'<em> she thought. Sasuke's flash-step was too fast for her; she could only see a blur from the corner of her eyes.

"_You said that you're going to be Hokage someday, right?"_ Sasuke continued, seemingly unaffected by the fact that he was in an unadvantageous position, _"You should've trained on yourself more rather than chasing me out like this."_

Naruto was too deep into his own mind to register that Sasuke had already pulled his _chokuto_ sword from its sheathe wrapped by the gigantic rope-waistband, holding it in a backhanded style, _"And now..."_

His blade was now fully out of its sheathe, _"You're going to die because of that on my whim."_

Everybody had assumed battle stance, tensing at the sight of Sasuke's Kusanagi. Naruto was the only one confident enough (or crazy enough) to be relaxed in a condition like this. He even managed to crack a small smile, even though he was going to be the receiving end of Sasuke's blade. He said, in a light, unpressured tone, _"Those who can't even save their friends...can never be Hokage. Isn't that right, Sasuke?"_

Sasuke stared at the yellow-haired boy beside him silently, his onyx eyes locking on Naruto's temple. _"Hmph."_ he arrogantly scoffed before flicking his right—the one holding his sword—towards Naruto, trying to stab his side.

In a blink of an eye, Sai body-flickered behind Naruto and grabbed Sasuke's descending hand; therefore stopping his swords movements.

Sasuke looked at Sai's hand, his eyes looking a bit amused. _"Your way to block...is right."_

In less than a second, Naruto grabbed Sasuke's left arm and did a frontflip to break Sasuke's hold on him. Sai, meanwhile, grabbed his wakizashi.

Though both of them moved faster than any normal human could, Sasuke seem to react to it even faster. Why? Simple; His Sharingan is activated. Red pupils with a ring shape in it, and three tomoe marks in the ring path; making it look like an orbiting planet.

Even as Yamato summoned out a wooden restraint to back up Naruto and Sai, Sasuke was already one step ahead of them. Summoning his chakra, turning it into lightning element, and releasing it from all over his body, _"Chidori Nagashi _(Chidori Stream)_!"_ he activated a lightning-based areal attack, scorching both Naruto and Sai and also breaking down Yamato's jutsu before it reach him.

Sakura blinked, both shocked and surprised. _'Generating Chidori from all over his body?'_ she thought in shock. Her surprise leaned more to the fact that even though Sasuke's jutsu was fairly damagin, she didn't get hit by it, luckily.  
><em>'I don't have anytime to be surprised!'<em> she thought, shaking her head before charging Sasuke on her own. _'I promised that __**both **__of us are going to take him back...together!'_

Red Sharingan locked with emerald eyes. In turn, Sasuke's left hand ignited, his Chidori coursing through his Kusanagi sword.  
>He didn't get far, though. Yamato saw that dangerous gleam in his eyes and jumped in between them, two kunais in each hand in a backhanded grip. He tried to block (or at least divert the sword's path), only to have Sasuke's sword running through both him and his kunai. Then, the Uchiha rammed him to a mid-sized boulder behindd Yamato, forcing the ANBU member to fall on his behind.<p>

"_Your way to block...is wrong."_

Sasuke's smug statement was not a meaningless taunt, assuming it was a taunt anyway. _"My Kusanagi sword is a little unique. It can't be blocked like that."_ His words were true; as Sasuke let his Chidori coursing through his blade and into Yamato's shoulder wound, Yamato realized that fact. _'So that's how he's doing it...Coating his blade with Chidori to extremely sharpen his blade so that it would cut steel into half. Furthermore, the wound it inflicted is making me paralized.'_

Sasuke heard a groan beside him. He turned to the voice of that sound to see Naruto, on the ground, looking up at him. What caught his interest was that his whisker marks had thickened, his eyes were slitted and blood-red in color, and his necklace was not where it supposed to be.  
>He could literally see Naruto struggling to keep himself at bay. To keep Kyuubi's chakra from leaking out.<p>

In fact, the blond ninja was having a heated mental debate with his bijuu as of that moment. The fox, matearilizing in a bubble-like substance out from his cage to in front of Naruto, grinned at his host.

'_**What are you waiting for, brat? The Uchiha is right there to kill. You'll need power. MY power. So where's the usual plea of "lend me your strength" you used to say?'**_ Kyuubi said, appeared to be amused at Naruto's hesitation.

'_I don't need your power to bring Sasuke back! So go away!'_ Naruto said defiantly, placing an open palm in front of him as if to refuse Kyuubi's words. Kyuubi narrowed his eyes, scrunitizing the blond before roaring out a laugh that shook Naruto's mental space.  
><em><strong>'Your determination is amusing. To think, for one second you'd be able to defeat him without my power. Last time, you nearly died even with one tail worth of my chakra.'<strong>_

'_You almost kill Sakura-chan with four! I won't let myself be take over by you again. I've promised that.'_

This time, for the slightest moment Kyuubi looked taken aback before he regained his scary demeanor again, _**'Brat, in my defense all I gave you was access to my chakra, and that was it.'**_

'_What does that suppose to mean?'_ Naruto asked, his anger not subsided but now his tone is laced with sudden confusion. When Kyuubi didn't answer him—instead opting to look stupefied—Naruto glared at the fox angrily. That is, until he felt the sudden shift in his mental space so he instinctively did a 180o turn. He saw, of all people, Sasuke walking slowly towards him.

'_I gotta say, dobe. Your mental shields are more than I expected.'_ he said, mentally. He was more amused than suprised; Naruto having an active mental shield is no surprise to him. That's normal for anyone. He was more amused at the fact that Naruto even had mental shields that his Sharingan didn't detect, therefore prolonging the period he used to get in his mind.

'_Sasuke...? What are you doing here?'_ Naruto's question fell on deaf ears when Kyuubi began talking himself. _**'Uchiha...it seems I've underestimate your Sharingan.'**_

'_So those mental shields are your doing?'_ Sasuke asked, not even flinching at Kyuubi's hateful glare. _'Naruto...to think you have something like this in your body.'_

Sasuke looked straight at the Kyuubi's red eyes with his own. Subdued hatred shined in Kyuubi's eyes when he looked into the eyes of the Uchiha bloodline. _**'To think...I would meet someone with those damnable eyes in this kind of place.'**_

Sasuke frowned. Usually, insults brushed off of him like water off of a shiny plate. Now, though, his drowsy state from the forced awakening plus the fact that Kyuubi is mocking his clan annoyed him a tad bit. _'You seem to know much about these eyes...'_

Naruto looked back and forth between Kyuubi and the Sasuke's mental projection in confusion. Part of him is a little peeved by the fact that both of them were ignoring him, even though they're talking in HIS mind.

'_So...I take it you're the Kyuubi no Kitsune_ (Nine-Tailed Fox)_?'_

Kyuubi's dark chuckle echoed throughout Naruto's mental space, vibrating the cage used to contain him, _**'A member of the Uchiha clan, foolish enough to talk down to me and say my name so easily. I see your damnable bloodline hasn't yet to lose it's sickening uses. Those eyes...**_

'_**They're the same just like that Uchiha Madara years ago.'**_

Something inside Sasuke snapped. He wondered what did, but he didn't want nor need to investigate it further. He body-flickered past Naruto to in front of the bubbly figure and put his open left hand to its nose. Using all of his willpower, he crushed Kyuubi's projection and he receeded back into his cage. _'That name has no meaning to me.'_ he said monotously.

Naruto had gotten over his earlier shock and looked at Sasuke who was beside him, his guard is on to intercept whatever Sasuke would throw at him. He hoped, at least.

'_**I never thought you would have enough power to supress my chakra.'**_ Kyuubi chuckled darkly again, _**'I'll give you a piece of advice. Don't...kill...Naruto'**_ Kyuubi's presence is disappearing quickly, even as he talked, _**'You'll...be...sorry...'**_

Sasuke took all of Kyuubi's threat in. He smirked before making his exit from Naruto's mind.

As quickly as that mental conversation ended, Naruto's conciousness resurfaced that fast as well. Sasuke, who had his Sharingan staring at Naruto's eyes all that time, continued to look at his ex-teammate pathetically.

He just surpressed Naruto's greatest power; the Kyuubi.

So taken was Sasuke by this turnout, that he failed to react quickly when Yamato raised his shaky hands into a hand seal and summoned a log of wood from his wounded shoulder, pushing off Sasuke's sword and made him topple backwards unbalanced.

It didn't end there, either. Yamato proceeded to use his Wood style jutsu to grow a dome of wood to trap Sasuke. But just because he was caught off-guard doesn't mean he wasn't prepared for this. His left hand ignited, Chidori activated. Using the lightning-based hand-blade, he broke through Yamato's wood dome and jumped away to the higher grounds once again. He sheathed his sword back.

Looking up, Naruto growled in annoyance. Sasuke could be one persistent idiot when he wanted to. _"Sasuke...why don't you understand? Orochimaru is going to take your body as his own soon! Are you going to let him take you for all you're worth!"_

Sasuke glared icily through his Sharingan, narrowing his eyes. _"If that suppose to happen, then so be it."_

Sakura gasped in disbelief. Naruto snarled at the dark-haired boy, getting angrier and more confused.

"_You haven't change, Naruto. You're still a childish loser. I don't care what'll happen to me, as long as Itachi dies. If it's to kill Itachi, I'll give my life as many as I have."_

Dumbstruck and left speechless, Naruto stood there trembling. What Sasuke had just said...he couldn't mean it...could he?

Yamato, sensing that this was going out of control, stood up. His face more was more serious than ever when he said, _"Naruto, Sakura...this is getting out of hand. I don't want to say this,"_ he took a deep breath before continuing with narrowed eyes, _"but forgive me. I'll be getting serious."_

Sasuke cast a neutral glare at Yamato, _"Konoha...I don't need any of you anymore!"_ as he finished saying this, his hands blurred as hand seals were made. And then, he raised his left hand high into the air, _"With this, it's all over!"_

Whatever jutsu he was going to use, it would prove effective if it were to hit any of the Konoha quartet at this rate. Naruto and Sai had gotten partially paralyzed by Sasuke's first attack. Yamato, though him being serious was not a bluff, had already gotten wounded and he had used a portion of his chakra attempting to counterattack Sasuke. Sakura might be the only one safe from Sasuke's probable jutsu, but considering the fact that Sasuke's speed has considerably increased Sakura could never hope to outrun him (not to say that she would abandon her team).

But hey, if shit happens, then so does miracle.

Sasuke caught a movement from the corner of his eyes. The moving figure, however, was too fast for Sasuke to follow. What he saw and his mind could comprehend was a dashing person clad in red, black and blue charging from behind him. As Sasuke turned and readied his right foot to do a counter spin kick, the figure charging towards him jumped over him. Basically, the figure overshot his jump and didn't make contact with Sasuke. Sasuke's eyes snapped back at the figure now soaring in mid-air. As he did so, the figure shot out some sort of rope that stuck itself onto the ground beneath him. His eyes trailed to where the rope sticks to, realizing that the material the rope was made of resembled some kind of concentrated web line.

He cursed. What was he doing, taking his eyes off from the target like this?

His error was proven fatal. With a mighty heave, the figure zipped through the air and shot forward like a bullet; his right leg posed in front ready to deliver a flying kick.

Sasuke, no matter how amazing his Sharingan's calculation ability is, had no choice but to raise his arms to block the impending kick. The kick connected with his arms, and it made him stagger in a sudden lost of balance. His gathered chakra which he had prepared to use for **that** jutsu to wipe off the four Konoha ninja was released and went back to its normal flow.

Gritting his teeth to hold the roar of anger from escaping his lips, Sasuke sneered at the figure that attacked him. Now that said person had stopped moving, Sasuke could take in his appearance. A weird, trangular-shaped eye on the mask he's wearing and the ridiculous costume he was wearing topped off with a black jacket. _"Who the hell are you?"_ Sasuke growled out, annoyed beyond belief that someone who is wearing ridiculous outfit could hit him.

Naruto's vision of the person was kind of blurred, thanks to the fact that he was in front of the setting sun. But after a moment, one thing proves who the person is.

The spider insignia on the back of his black jacket.

"_Spiderman!"_

Spiderman tilted his head sideways and gave Naruto a wave of hand, _"Yo. Decided to come here check some things up. To tell you the truth, I kinda felt left out."_ he said, pouting at the end of his sentence.

Sakura couldn't help but feel a bit relieved. Thank God Spiderman dropped in when he did; otherwise they all could've been done for. With an extra member Sasuke hasn't encountered, the element of surprise was once again theirs.

Said dark-haired boy asked once again, in a more heated tone, _"I'll ask you once again. Who are you?"_

A childish frown could be seen etched on Spiderman's mask as the edges of where his mouth should be tilted down. He turned to Sasuke again, staring unfazed at the Sharingan staring back at him, _"You know, it's rude to interrupt someone when they're talking. No matter how your hairstyle is."_

Agitation. Yes, that might be what one would describe of Sasuke's feelings right now. Agitation of the bug-faced stranger in front of him that he didn't even had an idea of. That's the worse part; he really didn't know anything about him.

"_But, pish-posh talk aside...I think it's safe to assume you're the guy I think you are,"_ he said, grinning tauntingly, _"Uchiha Sasuke?"_

Sasuke humphed arrogantly, sensing that the person with the wrong sense of fashion in front of him was not serious (if the occasional wisecracks weren't proof enough). He sighed, _'I should probably show myself as a threat that requires him to get serious with.'_

"_Pitiful..."_ he started, drawing his sword back out, the steel reflecting the sun behind him,_ "I guess that's one more of Konoha dwellers I'll need to eradicate."_

Spiderman snorted, holding in a laugh of amusement because of the emo Uchiha's statement, _"That's quite the word, considering the people you want to 'eradicate' is your friends,"_ he glanced back at Naruto, who by now was too helpless to do anything but watch, _"but, oh well, you know what they say."_

Spiderman took his fighting stance; his hands in front of him slightly curled up, his legs slid a little further back preparing for a blitz attack.

"_He who ceases to be a friend, never was one."_ the lips beneath the mask curled up into an excited grin, _"Act 3, Scene 4, Othello. Shakespeare."_

End of Chapter 23

**xoxoxo**

**YEEEAAAAHH! At last, my long awaited update.**

**Terribly sorry, folks, for the late as hell update. You see, things are not that good on my end. Exams coming up, a two-shot in the making, etc. Not to mention that might be my longest chapter yet.  
>So, apology sent. Accept or decline?<strong>

**Naruto: Decline.  
>Spiderman: Moi aussi.<br>Me: I didn't ask for your opinion.**

**Oh yeah, that quote Spiderman used. If you want to picture how he say it, I suggest watching Lucky Luke the Movie. Jessie James said that, and I thought it's both freaking hilarious and seemingly a perfect quote.**


	25. Chapter 24

**So now it has come to this. Personally, I think it's gonna be tough writing an epic battle scene between Spiderman and Sasuke; even though the fact that it's gonna be fun picturing an annoyed Sasuke fighting a wisecracking Spiderman helps big time. And I'm also sorry to say that I forgot to write the Jutsu Description part of the story. Sorry, I'll be making up for it in this chapter.**

**Oh yeah, recommended songs for this fight chapter: Blue by Vivid and/or American Eyes- The Girl with the Broken Heart (By the Way).**

**Don't ask why; just listen to them while reading, and you'll get the sensation.**

**Naruto: What's with the cranky attitude?  
>Me: I'm writing this in the middle of a test week. How do you suppose my attitude should be?<br>Naruto: Gee, no need to get all Sasuke on me.**

**Also, to note; I realize some of the readers are expecting Spiderman's bijuu cloak. I thought about that as well, that is until I came up with a dramatical (somewhat) error.  
>There I was thinking, 'Hey, if I give Spiderman an ordinary bijuu cloak, won't that be boring?'<br>Thing is, bijuu cloak is Kishi-sensei's idea. If I continue picking up his trail of breadcrumbs, I might as well just write what he drew. And that means I'm piggybacking his work (not to say I'm currently not; writing a fanfiction and all).**

**So Spiderman+bijuu cloak= no go. Pfft, big deal. I have another idea in mind.  
>Also, I realized Spiderman's version of Rasengan, Rasraichi, had a name that was pretty much untranslateable. I tried it in Google Translate, but the translation of Rasraichi would be: S from Lychee. Shit.<strong>

**So I'm going to change its name, but at the meantime I haven't figured out a new name for it. So I'm going to let it as it is for now. There's a lot of changes I wanted to make, but first, I want to finish this story.**

**Review Reply (okay, I'm using this part of AN as to reply some reviewers who don't have a Fanfiction account. It will help me better if you do, so please sign up :D ):**

**-BOBOBO (Did I get it right? Eheh): I see. Yes, my writing was a wreck when I started writing this story. Me being an amateur writer and all. I'll go back on repairing those earlier chapters later after I finish up this story, though.**

**Disc,: I don't own Naruto. Yes, that's the truth and no, I'm not in the state of denial.**

**xoxoxo**

Chapter 24

Cloudy With the Chance of Lightning Strikes

Spiderman took a deep breath, focusing all of his attention to the opponent he was facing. He could not kid himself, this time. Sasuke is not a pushover, that much he knew. Even his spider-sense kept reminding him of that.

Okay, while it's true that the element of surprise was his because Sasuke didn't know anything about him, the same could be said vice versa because other than the info he gathered in Konoha, Spiderman didn't know anything about Sasuke, either.

'No. I can't make excuses at times like these.' He thought, steeling himself for what was to come. 'None of the others are in any shape to fight right now. Sakura might look okay, but I doubt I would be able to fight while protecting her as well.'

Sasuke smirked smugly, _"It seems that you could entertain me a little. Let's see how well you fare."_

"_Then by all means,"_ The masked hero raised his palm with the back facing Sasuke, taunting him, _"Come and try me."_

Suddenly, Sasuke stabbed his sword through the ground he was standing on. Then his hands blurred in a set of hand seals. His hands stopped on the Tiger seal before he let out a breath of four flaming projectiles, _"Katon: Housenka no Jutsu _(Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu)_!"_

Spiderman fell backwards off of the pole-like boulder he was standing on just as the soccer ball-sized fireballs whizzed in front of his face. As he fell, he threw four shurikens towards Sasuke, hoping at least one to make a hit.

Unfortunately, his Sharingan already saw it coming. Sasuke pulled his Kusanagi blade off of the ground and sliced the two first shurikens into two, while dodging the other two by flipping to the side narrowly missing them.

Spiderman snarled, _"Damn. He's quick on his feet."_ His eyes widened as he saw that when Sasuke dodged the shurikens he flicked his left hand to the side, throwing some kind of miniscule projectiles to him. By instinct, he countered all of the _Chidori Senbon_ with his impact webs, effectively sealing every electric needles in a cocoon of web. Deciding that long-range attacks won't get him anywhere, Spiderman jumped high towards Sasuke, his fist ready to strike.

Sasuke dodged the first punch with a slight tilt of the head, while blocking a kick following it afterwards. He countered with several fast jabs and a jumping side kick aimed to Spiderman's head. Spiderman blocked his jabs while ducking under the side kick. He did an uppercut aimed to Sasuke's chin which was the dark-haired Uchiha jumped away from.

What happened between the two was seen not more than a blur of colors to the other ninjas present there. Not one of them dared to interfere the fight (except maybe Naruto, if he wasn't paralyzed) seeing that the speed they're going at was at a whole other level.

Sasuke stared scrunitizingly at his costume-wearing opponent, curious as to why his attack didn't connect. What's more confusing was although his Sharingan already predicted Spiderman's movements, he could feel that his own movements was already predicted. The only explanation was that this lame-excuse-of-a-joke had the ability to use Sharingan, but that's impossible seeing the only other person able to use Sharingan was Kakashi and his brother, who were both not here.

And no matter how he hated him, Sasuke would never accuse Itachi of having a hideous sense of fashion.

"_I'm impressed. You seem to be able to keep up with my movements, even though my Sharingan is active."_ Sasuke said arrogantly, trying to veil his curiosity. Spiderman laughed, which irked the Uchiha a bit. _"Oh, you think that's impressive? Well, then, the next one,"_ He raised both of his fists in front of him in a boxer's stance, _"will be shocking."_

Spiderman's fists ignited in lightning, a glove of light encompassing both of his hands. A shocked look passed Sasuke's face, which quickly disappeared as Spiderman too disappear from his sight.

'_His body-flicker is faster than I thought.'_ Sasuke mused. Thankfully for him, his Sharingan was active. There's no way he wouldn't be able to read Spiderman's move coming.

Fact was, his prideful eyes only registered Spiderman's move just when his fist was a mere foot from his face, coming in from his left. He turned slightly, dodging the incoming fist as well as countering with a stab of his sword. _'He's fast, but it seems he still can't see where he's going.'_ As if in slow motion, the sword inched its way to Spiderman's abdomen, _"You're finished!"_

However, Sasuke is no psychic. His statement was proven wrong in every sense when Spiderman's left fist moved to intercept the blade. His wrist instinctively flicked inwards, causing a miracle to happen. A sword portruted from Spiderman's lightning-gloved knuckles, blocking Sasuke's Kusanagi before it reached his abdomen. In turn, Sasuke's eyes widened once more in shock. Spiderman launched an unexpected right hook which made Sasuke flew back a few feet back, falling down to the rubbles.

All of the audience's attention—including Spiderman himself—were on Spiderman's sword coming out of his left knuckle. No, that would be incorrect. On closer inspection, the "sword" was more of a blade seeing that it was only the blade part that came out rather than the sword as a whole. Also, it came out from his outer wrist.

Spiderman checked his newly discovered power like a nine-year old, _"Freaking awesome! A blade of lightning? Now you're talking!"_ He paused, then he grinned as he concentrated on his right knuckles. Electric sparks ran along Spiderman's right arm before another lightning saber shot out. _"Aaww Yeaah! Double-time!"_

Yamato squinted at the lightning sabers (I refuse to call it "lightning blade" since that's Kakashi's jutsu, _Raikiri_), _"I see. So it's a chakra blade made from his lightning chakra. That's why Spiderman was able to block Sasuke's sword."_

"_So only a chakra blade can hold Sasuke's sword?"_ Sakura questioned curiously, her amazement of Spiderman's new technique obviously evident.

Yamato nodded at her, _"Assuming Sasuke instilled his own chakra into his sword, I guess that would be the case."_

"_Katon:..."_

An explosion erupted from where Sasuke was thrown to. Spiderman snapped towards the direction of the explosion when suddenly his spider-sense rang. _"Goukakyuu no Jutsu_ (Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu)_!"_ Sasuke let out a breath of flames which shot towards Spiderman in the shape of a humongous fireball. Out of reflex, he jumped over the fireball, meeting Sasuke head-on in a saberlock. Even though Spiderman has two blades versus Sasuke's single Kusanagi, there's no showing progress from both sides. Both pushed against each other in midair until Sasuke gained the upper hand and kicked Sasuke in the chest sending him falling down to the ground.

Spiderman grunted as he caught the blow in his chest, his momentum turned against him and he fell to the ground with a thud. His double lightning sword, Souten, had cancelled as he rolled.

'Damn. It's almost as if all of my movements are crystal clear to him.'

A booming sound replied his thought, **'It's because it is, kid. That Sharingan is one annoying piece of ability; able to read muscle tensions in one's body to determine what his next movement is going to be. In a sense, it works almost similiar like your spider-sense.'**

'Damn. That means counterattack would be next to no good. Almost feels like fighting Venom all over again.' Spiderman thought. He clicked his tongue in annoyance. At least it didn't seem that Sasuke was going for the kill, just yet. The masked hero brought his hands into a cross-shape hand seal.

If he couldn't win with himself alone, maybe he should duplicate himself.

Multiple shadow clones appeared around the battle ground. Sasuke looked around to find several clones behind him too, and smirked, _"Hoo...you copied the dobe's favorite jutsu? Not bad, but still it won't be enough. You can't beat quality with quantity, moreso if all of these clones are replication of one weak person."_

"_You talk too much, you know that?"_ All the clones said in unison. Some of them cracked their knuckles for intimidation, _"How about less talk, more action? You'll need to work your legs rather than your fat tongue."_

No reply was needed as all the clones charged at Sasuke; the ones from the upper ridge jumping down and ignited their fist in lightning intending to give their duck-haired target hell. All of them grinned devillishly as they neared Sasuke.  
>Sasuke's eyes registered all of their movements, and in one quick move coupled with several short body-flicker he slashed through the crowd, avoiding their fist as if their as clear as sunlight. He spun his body and slashed another clone upwards, said clone then poofed out of existence.<p>

Another one came, followed by two of his doppelganger. In turn, Sasuke dashed forward himself with his sword poised out to stab. The two of Spiderman clones behind the first one flung a single kunai each, aiming to hit Sasuke when the clone in front of them disappear.  
>Sasuke, however, saw through their plan and did a front flip. In process of the front flip, he managed to slash the first clone and dodged the previous kunais. The two clones were caught off-guard, which resulted in Sasuke cutting them in half with one side slash as he landed.<p>

A 'thwip' sound, he heard. Next thing happened, the tip of his sword was covered in web.  
>There's one clone holding the webline so Sasuke couldn't move his blade. Another four came from all around him and attacked. Through the sight of his Sharingan, Sasuke saw the clones pre-movements and, seeing no other way out, opted to cancel all the clones. He gathered his chakra, turned it into lightning in terms of element, and shot it outwards, <em>"Chidori Nagashi!"<em> The charging clones were hit full force by the lightning bolts. The one holding the webline also poofed out after getting hit by the area attack.

The Uchiha's scarlet eyes scanned around. More of the clones seem to gather around, and they just kept charging. _'If I finish them one by one, I'll be open for a mass attack...'_ He thought. An idea popped in his mind, and he sheathed his sword before his hand made three hand seals._ 'Might as well finish them all with one blow.'_

Now, it's Sasuke's turn to ignite his left hand with lightning. His favorite one-hit K.O jutsu, _"Chidori _(Thousand Birds)_!"_

As the clones descended, Sasuke blurred out of sight. When he reappeared next was when he was plunging his electrified left hand into a clones stomach and dashed away charging another clone.

The process repeated several time until the clones were all turned into white puffs of smoke. For once, he **had** to break a sweat. Not even Orochimaru's lackeys—he prefer to call them punching bags—were this much of a challenge.

His Sharingan did a quick scan to search for his opponent. He saw black about 9 feet in front of him covered in smoke. He smirked as he dashed forward and stabbed the black target.  
>Which was not Spiderman. Apparently, all Sasuke had stabbed was his black jacket.<p>

"_Try this on for quality!"_ Sasuke heard Spiderman yelled, and followed the voice which came from above him. He also saw black, but this time Spiderman's whole costume was black. What happened with him, Sasuke didn't know. But he knew that the transformation couldn't be just for show. Along with Spiderman's yell, he also heard the all-too-familiar friction in the air. He looked at Spiderman's right hand, and he was right.

'_Even the Rasengan?'_

Spiderman's Rasraichi cleared away the smoke previously enveloping the area in a spiralling gust of wind, _"Rasraichi!"_

THOOOM!

The ground shook as the Rasraichi made contact. The smoke cleared out completely and a pillar of black smoky substance was visible from where Spiderman was.

Naruto for once was relieved, somewhat, that the attack was succesful. He didn't witness for himself when did Spiderman did the Black Tarantula takeover, but he was glad the webhead did. Not even Sasuke could dodge a powered-up Rasraichi like that.

But he couldn't be sure himself, _"Did he get him?"_

Sakura's eyes were the first one to see what happened that it was taking a long time for both fighting ninjas to make any noise, _"I couldn't see them clearly but—"_

Suddenly, her eyes caught sight of the black-clad Spiderman (save for his red-blue jeans) with his right hand on the broken ground. But Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. _"Where is Sasuke?"_ Sakura voiced out, knowing full well that no one other than the man in question know where he was.

Spiderman, for his part, was stunned. He was so sure that his Rasraichi hit Sasuke right on the face, but...

'Just...what the hell happened?'

Suddenly a voice resounded, _"I'm impressed. I didn't know the dobe also taught you the Rasengan. Not bad, though that's still a carbon copy of the original,"_ A scoff, then the voice, now recognized as Sasuke's, continued, _"However, no matter what ninjutsu you master, there's no hope of hitting me once you stare into my eyes."_

Yamato though what Sasuke said. A moment later, his face enlightened, _"It can't be...Genjutsu?"_

True, while Spiderman was strong in both Taijutsu and Ninjutsu, his experience with Genjutsu was non-existent. What Sasuke actually did seconds before the Rasraichi hit him was to execute a quick genjutsu; one with the intention of misplacing Spiderman's timing, therefore making Spiderman's aim miss the Uchiha. He himself fled away from Spiderman to hide.

"_Now...my turn."_ Sasuke said as he suddenly appeared some feet away from Spiderman. The spider-sense caught his presence and alerted Spiderman, _"So there you ar-!"_ With a blinding speed, Sasuke appeared again in front of him and sent strong fist to Spiderman's stomach knocing the air out of him. Spiderman saw stars dancing around his eyes, even when Sasuke did a follow-up attack; another punch to his stomach, a knee to the same place rising Spiderman off the ground and a kick to Spiderman's jaw that sent him flying upwards and away.

Pain coursed through Spiderman's body, the source of the pain being his beaten stomach. As his forced flight lost its momentum, the Avenger member fell downwards. His face was turned towards Sasuke, glaring painfully through the mask at him. He blinked once, and when he opened his eyes Sasuke was in front of him again staring back at him with the blood-red Sharingan. The eyes under the web-motived mask widened in shock. _'How...?'_

Sasuke's move was faster than Spiderman could follow. The dark-haired Uchiha reared his left fist and launched a crunching full-body jab that sent Spiderman away crashing into a wall and through it. As if getting the message, the wall caved in and buried him in a pile of rubble.

"_...Squashed one bug."_ Sasuke said smugly. That punch should take care of that masked meddler. He counted at least four of his ribs already caved in. And if that's not good enough, his attack would render that man immobile for some time. All that was left were the other Konoha ninjas.

**Naruto's POV**

Just like that, Spiderman was beaten. I can't believe it, but it just happened.

I've always thought of him as strong as hell. I mean, Spiderman never shown any of his weaknesses. Not once; he always comes out of a fight a winner. In the Chuunin exams, the fight against Hanabi. Heck, Yamato-taichou even told me that that web-shooting idiot was able to fight me in my deranged four-tailed cloak when I went berserk before.

He's not weak. He never is. A guy who can take a beating like it was nothing can't be **weak**.

Then...is Sasuke that strong already?

"_It seems...your last hope has failed you."_ I heard Sasuke said. I stared at him blankly, knowing he's right. If not even Spiderman could beat Sasuke, who else can fight him?

I saw Yamato-taichou step in between us. His face looked tense, if not rigid. His hands inched its way to the kunai pocket on his right knee, _"He's not our last hope. And he certainly didn't fail."_ The kunai finally retracted from his pouch, Yamato-taichou set his fighting stance. _"Fighting Spiderman must've taken a lot out of you. And I won't hold back on you._

"_Naruto, Sakura, Sai, you three take Spiderman and get out of here. I'll deal with Sasuke myself."_

Now, that's just bullshit.

"_What?"_

"_You heard me the first time, Naruto. Now hurry, Spiderman needs medical attention!"_

"_Yamato-taichou, we won't leave!"_

"_This is not a request, Sakura, I'm ordering you as your captain! Now hurry!"_ Yamato-taichou...I thought I've already seen his scary face before. Now I might take that back. There was a dark taint to his face...guess what he said about taking care of Sasuke himself was no joke at all. Other than that, though, he seemed scared, too. Not of Sasuke, rather, he's scared for us his subordinates.

"_Don't you understand the situation? This is not the time to be playing hero! We got one team member down, all of us are in no condition to fight, and there's still a missing-nin as an opponent."_

My eyes averted to Sakura-chan. I saw her there, trembling. No idea what's the cause of her trembling; she might be angry, I know as much. But no, by the way she was biting her lip like that, I know she was trying to hold in her tears.  
>It hurts me, seeing her in the verge of breaking down like that. I wish I could do something but...I don't wanna hurt her again.<p>

It's all because of Sasuke. It always is. He's the reason Sakura always cry. I've always hoped that Teme would come back with us willingly, but why should he always hurt Sakura-chan? Doesn't he know she loves him? I promised her I'm going to bring him back to Konoha, to her.

But, now, my comrade was beaten half to death, my team captain cleaning up MY mess, and the girl I like...love...was hurting.  
>Yamato-taichou is trying to take the responsibility of fighting Sasuke, but where does he comes in in all of this?<p>

This is...this is...

"_Yamato-taichou..."_ He turned to face me, but his focus was still on Sasuke. I looked straight at his eyes, hoping my feelings would be seen. _"I'll be dealing with Sasuke."_

His eyes widen, then he turned his back on me saying, _"Naruto, I won't say it thrice if I can. I already told you, I'M dealing with Sasuke."_

"_But Sasuke's not YOUR responsibility!"_

I could feel the eyes of my two teammates boring on my back. Frankly, I don't know what I'm saying myself, _"You're not Sasuke's teammate! How would you know how it feels when a friend of yours leaves the village and turned into a missing-nin? You didn't train your ass off every night and day just to get stronger and bring him back, and...!"_

I...I don't know what I'm doing. Here I am, yelling at my team captain for my own personal selfishness. My teammates must be looking at me questioningly at my back. A comrade has fallen...my comrade, and all I'm doing was to yell at my captain.

And Sakura-chan would still be crying because of Sasuke. _"You didn't promise to bring him back to Konoha!"_

I don't know since when was all eyes were on me. Heck, even Sasuke listened in to my rant. I heard a choked gasp behind me. I knew it was Sakura-chan from the voice; it's hard not to notice it. What I said...I didn't mean it for her, but I don't know if it hurt her as well.

"_Sasuke...he's..."_

In truth, I don't know if it would be better if I didn't say anything at all. In the end, I probably should've known I'd die trying to do what I was meant to do since that day two and a half years ago. Honestly, I don't know what I should do to stop those tears I saw falling from Sakura-chan's eyes all those years ago. I don't know what should I believe in anymore.

'_-With great power, comes great responsibility. That's my nindo.-'_ It rang in my head; Spiderman's _nindo_. I don't know what I should do, but I know what I shouldn't do.  
>I can't let him get away again.<p>

"_My responsibility!"_

As Yamato-taichou stared at me in a confusing way, I don't know whether what I say was right or not. I guess I wouldn't care if it wasn't.

I heard a shuffling sound from behind me. The person came to my left side, with such a comforting aura I feel myself getting lighter. Sakura-chan.

"_I told you, we're getting him back together."_ She said, her tone was one of when she was joking, but her words weren't jokes. _"He's my teammate...my responsibility, too."_

The person behind me moved to my right side, standing with me shoulder to shoulder. Honestly, I expected nothing less from him, but it still surprise me that he was also beside me. Sai.

"_Sasuke can't be handled alone. I think you know that, Taichou. More importantly, if my teammates stay, I will too. I, for one, won't abandon them."_ He said, smiling. It was similar to the fake ones he used days ago, but this one held some emotions I felt familiar with.

Yamato-taichou looked us in curiosity. I swear I could see a spark of amusement in his eyes.

"_Hmph. If the subordinates are pumped up, I guess it won't do if the captain isn't, huh?"_ He said. I took that as a 'go ahead'.

I felt myself filled with multiple emotions, all of them warming my body. I strained not to laugh happily even though I'm so giddy inside. How can I not be? I'm so glad that my team is filled with faithful people.

Then, I heard a chuckle. It was Sasuke, and his chuckle is anything but happy. It's that dark kind of chuckle that he must've inherited from Orochimaru; it sends chills running down my spine. _"I can't believe you all could still argue when your death is just a breath away. Got to hand it to you Konoha ninjas."_

I looked at him straight in the eye, not caring about the fact that his Sharingan could put me under Genjutsu again, _"Sasuke, we won't leave unless you come back with us. And I won't take no as an answer!"_ I ignored my trembling hands as I balled them into fists.

He closed his eyes. From my place, he would seem like sighing. I don't know what's the reason for that; probably he's trying to say yes, and he felt tired about all this. That's just a misplaced dream, though.

His eyes opened. At that time, I could see it all; the anger, pain, disappointment, but most of all...

"_Keep dreaming, Dobe."_

His killer intent.

He flash-stepped towards us. First he went after Yamato-taichou with his blade poised to attack. Even though Yamato-taichou fought back, he barely stood a chance as Sasuke's sword made its way to his shoulder again after it cut through his Wood Style jutsu. Yamato-taichou fell as the sword went through him, and a kick from Sasuke made sure that he's not getting up anytime soon.

Next was Sai. He summoned out several of his ink lions which tried to restrain Sasuke's movements. Sadly, though, the Teme used his _Chidori Nagashi_ and beat the lions into pulp, literally. He charged forward and made a sideway slash at Sai. He ducked, and rolled when Sasuke tried to kick him. I wanted to help, but when Sai shot a glance at me I could almost see him saying not to interfere.

That one glance took some precious seconds, and Sasuke hit Sai's head with his sword's hilt. Sai groaned before blacking out and fell to the ground.

Then, Sasuke laid his eyes on me. His eyes looked almost predatory, glaring at me with that blood-red tint in them. He stepped forward, then he broke into a run closing in on me quickly. I reacted much more slower than I would've liked. The best I could do was to make shadow clones, since my kunai wouldn't be to much of a help in a fight against chakra-laden swords like Sasuke's. I thought, at least with the number of my clones I could at least slow him down and prepare for Rasengan.

What happened, though, was that Sasuke slashed his way through my clones like their made of paper. One by one, my clones fell. And by the time all of them dissipated I haven't even completed my Rasengan. I saw a glimmer of silver flying towards me and tilted my head out of instinct. _'That's...his sword!'_ Sasuke tried to impale me with his sword just now.

I was too taken in by the fact that I was just a breath away from death to realize Sasuke charging towards me with his Chidori. And by the time I looked back at him, I had no time to jump away.

It was then that I felt a tug on my collar and was thrown back with a heave. I scraped along the ground and, as I opened my eyes again, I saw Sakura-chan in front of me. Her legs weren't touching the ground, and her arms are bent like she was holding something in front of her. Sasuke was choking her.

"_Hoo...to think you would sacrifice yourself for the Dobe. I'm surprised, Sakura."_ I heard Sasuke said. There was no remorse in his voice. It's as if he thought that it wasn't wrong that he was choking Sakura-chan._ "I guessed we all changed, huh?"_

Sakura-chan tried to speak up, but it ended in a strangled cough, _"Naruto...ugh, run—kah!"_

"_I didn't say that you can talk, Sakura."_ Sasuke said coldly as his right hand which was choking Sakura moved to the side so I can see them fully. So that I can see him choking her; so that I can see her writhing face, her painful expression. _'Why?'_ was the only thing I could think. _'She loves you, damnit!'_

"_You're annoying as ever. I think I'll kill you in front of the dead-last, so he'll understand,"_ his left hand ignited in lightning again, _"I'm not to be trifled with."_

I froze. He's not serious, is he? He's not really going to kill Sakura-chan, right?

But as his left hand moved towards Sakura-chan's chest, I felt my mind breaking down. All of my barrier blown open, the shock coursing through my body like a broken dam. Heat flared inside me. Heat like nothing before. Rage.

"_NOOO!"_ I won't let him hurt her!

I stretched out my hand towards the bastard, and I was more relieved than surprised to find red, clawed chakra hand shooting towards Sasuke. He was too shocked to do anything, and was struck with the full impact of my chakra fist. He let go of Sakura-chan as he flew back a couple of meters. She fell, and I find myself staggering forward to catch her.

I caught her. I had her in my arms and looked at her tear-stricken face. She had passed out. My heart broke, like it always did when I saw her cry. _"It's okay, it's okay. I'm here, it's okay."_ I said, chanting it like a spell to ward of the darkness Sasuke nearly put into her.

I heard some crumbling noise in front me where Sasuke crashed. I flinched as I saw something I'd rather didn't see, ever again.

Sasuke's face was covered with a shape of artistic flame-shaped tattoos, and it was growing fast. He activated his curse seal. _"It seems...I've underestimated you again, Naruto."_

As the tatoos took over him, he takes on a whole different form. His skin darkened; the skin tone began to turn greyish. A cross-shaped tattoo appears on his nose and trailed to the side under his eyes. Where his eyes were white, now was black. His hair grew longer and turned white, and a pair of hand-like wings sprouted from his back. This is Sasuke's curse seal form.

I instinctively held Sakura-chan tighter. The thought of her punching my face in for holding her so closely lifted my spirits a little. She might actually break my face if we survive all this. _'IF we make it..._'

I'm scared. Scared of the fact that Sasuke might just kill me and Sakura-chan. And I begin to think, is this the end after all?

"_Die."_ Sasuke uttered, and then he charged his Chidori. Black lightning taints his jutsu, making it even more deadly and gruesome. He flew towards us with his left hand reared back to stab both of us.

The only thing I could do was to place myself in front of Sakura-chan and hoped my body is enough to shield her. Backed up with a slight hope, my other hand moved to the kunai pocket on my right leg with hopes that a single kunai can stop Sasuke's attack. Naive, I know, but it helps to have a burst of adrenaline in you to quench that fear inside you. In the end, I DO die trying to get Sasuke back. _'I guess this is it, ne?'_

Strangely, in times like these I heard someone chuckle inside me. The chuckle was nothing but amused. And slightly happy, if anything. _**'Not quite, brat.'**_

Then, there was an explosion. And I swore to Kami I heard a lightning crack with it.

'_**He's awake.'**_

**Spiderman's POV**

_Several minutes after blacking out..._

Where am I, exactly?

The last thing I remember before blacking out was that I felt like a roof just collapsed on me. I'm hurting all over.

'Damn, Sasuke did a number on me.'

...Okay, wait a sec. I just thought that, but it felt like I just said that and it echoed. There's only one place that had these features. My subconcious.

'**Indeed he did. That's to be expected when you go toe to toe against a **_**Kekkei Genkai**_** (Bloodline Limit) without being a ninja.'**

'Raibi! Good to see ya...or at least hear ya.'

I heard him sigh. Man, he's too serious most of the time to get a joke. Reminds me of ol' Fury. Guess I'll nickname him Furry Fury from now on.

'**We got no time to joke around, Peter. Remember the situation we're in?'** He said seriously. I clamped up that instant; to hear him say my real name like that really gives me the chills.

' 'Course I do. What, with Sasuke's punches and kicks imprinted all over my body, it'd be hard not to.' Truth is, I don't feel it anymore. But I bet that when I get back to the real world I would feel the pain; something about me being in an astral form in my subconcious makes sure of that. I'm not sure when I would wake up, though.

'**Good. Saves me my time to explain all this, then.'**

I didn't have enough time to ask what "all this" meant, because as soon as Raibi said all that, he raised his right hand and pointed his palm towards the space behind me. In an insant, that particular space flashed white. I stepped back and watched as the white light dispersed into several more colors. 'What's this, Raibi?'

'**This is how I usually see the real world from your eyes. Good thing you used my chakra for your eyes frequently, so now I can control it. It almost feels like watching in a cinema, only more realistic.'**

I groaned, 'I swear, I really got to limit my subconcious imagination. You're having too much real-world logic for a _Bijuu_.'

'**Shut up and look at the screen.'**

I did as I was told. There's no way I could outfight Raibi in an argument, anyway. As I did, though, I saw the last things I would expect. Sasuke standing in front of my four other teammates ready to attack. Then, Sasuke came down raining attacks relentlessly on them. Yamato-taichou is down with a stab to the shoulder, Sai with a hit of Sasuke's sword hilt, then Naruto came with a close call as Sasuke tore through his clones like a madman. Sakura pulled Naruto back, effectively making herself an easy target.

And Sasuke? He held her in a choke and intended to make a hole with his Chidori. 'Shit!' I cursed. A miracle happened and a chakra-shaped hand shot out to punch Sasuke right on his abdomen just as he was delivering the finishing blow. It was Naruto. The red chakra must've been the Kyuubi's.

He had it under control? Good grief, that was a shocker.

'**It's not over yet. I could feel ominous chakra from the Uchiha's body.'** Raibi warned. The hell? So Sasuke's not even serious yet?

It was then I saw another movement. Sasuke picked himself up and transformed into some kind of grotesque monster with hand-like wings on his back.

'Oh, please God no...Raibi, I need to wake up now!'

'**So? Wake up then.'** Raibi said nonchalantly, clearly he didn't get my message. 'I can't. Something's keeping my chakra from getting into its normal flow and it's keeping me unconcious!'

Raibi's green eyes darted to the sides. I don't understand what he's doing, but something must've caught his attention.

'**Genjutsu...tch, why now of all times?'**

'Can you cancel it?' I asked hopefully. This _Genjutsu_, I've learned, is some kind of illusion technique. I can't cancel it by myself since I don't know how to.

'**If we're a cooperating Jinchuuriki and Bijuu, then I could do something about it.'** The wolf said, crossing his arms sagely.

'Then what're you waiting for? Just cancel it before Sasuke gets to Naruto and kill h—"

'**Key word being "if".'**

It took some time processing his words, but I can't understand what Raibi was saying, 'What?'

He sighed again, this time his snout pointing towards the seal paper in front of the cage he was held in, **'It's the seal Web-baachan placed on you. It's a kind of seal that prevents me from merging my chakra with your own. With it there, I can't do anything except giving you additional chakra reserves and elemental affinity.'**

'What the hell's with that? She never told me any of this.' I asked aloud, wondering for what purpose did my mentor placed this kind of seal in me. Why did she planted a seal that prevents merging of chakra between a Jinchuuriki and a Bijuu when she obviously sealed a Bijuu inside him to make him a Jinchuuriki? This just doesn't make any sense.

'**...You'll have to ask her yourself about that. I swore to her I won't tell anything about the seal.' **He closed his eyes as if thinking over, **'But the truth is, if we were to do anything to prevent Sasuke from killing Naruto then we have to open the seal.'**

'Open...the seal?' I questioned again. That sounded like a bad idea to me. 'I don't know about that. Even if we do, I doubt that I'll be a match for Sasuke.'

'**After you break the seal, you'll be granted greater power. My chakra will be part of yours, among other things, just like Kyuubi's is part of Naruto's.'**

I lifted my head to meet Raibi's steely gaze, 'So...I'm going to be something like that four-tailed version of his?'

'**You won't even be similar to it, I assure you. But that's not the problem here,'** He said, then he looked at me straight in the eyes seriousy, **'I'm asking for your condolences here. Do you or do you not permit me to break the seal so that we'll be able to stop Sasuke?' **To me, Raibi's question seemed easier to answer than the way he's asking me. I mean, does he really need to ask about that particular detail? 'I think we both know my answer,' I said confidently, 'I won't let my comrades die. They're my responsibility; the powers you gave me also bestowed me the ability to take up that responsibility. So we can't just stop here, _ne_?'

We let the short silence pass through the atmosphere. Finally, with a chuckle, Raibi placed his palm on the surface of the middle pillar of the cage. **'Place your hand in front of the seal, then generate your chakra through it.'** I nodded and did as he told. As I hovered to the paper with the kanji for 'seal' covering the seal Madam Web used on me and tore it away, I let a little laugh out, 'I suppose there's a risk for opening the seal?'

'**There are...several effects. Partly because your chakra coils were not activated before I was sealed into you. The other because my chakra is too unstable for even a normal Jinchuuriki to control.'**

'And that will effect me in...what kind of ways?' I asked again curiously as I placed my hand on the yin-yang seal on Raibi's cage.

'**I promise you two things; your body will be strained to the point where you'll feel extreme pain—both mentally and physically—and heck you won't even be in a pretty good shape when all this is over. But you'll achieve greater power than you could ever imagine so that you can defeat Sasuke.'**

I took a deep breath in, knowing that the deal I'm making here is not a plaything. This could kill me; and that's no joke. On the other hand, though, I'll be dead if I don't do anything. And so will Naruto, Sakura, Sai and Yamato-taichou. It's not like I'm planning to die, anyway; I still got Mary Jane waiting for me back home. She'll kick me through my grave if I ever died without making up to her. Funny, the idea of her kicking my dead body seemed so like her.

'Let's do it.'

**Normal POV**

Just as Sasuke finished transforming into his cursed-seal level two form, his hand weaved through three handseals required for the Chidori. With his black Chidori in his left hand, he charged towards Naruto. All Naruto could do was to hope that his kunai was enough to fight back and prepare.

Alas, it was not to be so.

There was an explosion, which made Sasuke stopped his advance and look to the source of the sudden noise. Fact was, it was the same place he just saw Spiderman crash into. And then, the same explosion was followed by a crack of lightning. After that, Sasuke couldn't see what happened. The only thing he knew was that he was flying back after getting hit by a crippling, scorching force that came so fast he was sure it could cleave his head off if he didn't roll with the hit. He let out a grunt as he scraped the ground and came into a stop as he hit a boulder. As he raised his head and locked his Sharingan to his attacker, his eyes widened.

There stood the same Spiderman that he had just punched into a wall; still the same person he had just defeated. But this was different.

Whereas the previous Spiderman was battered, bloodied and torn, the present state he was in totally differs. Not only that his visible wounds were healed completely; he was also coated in lightning. His forearm was literally transformed; his fingers has got lightning-based claws, and trailing up the forearm the lightning looked like a gauntlet. His legs were also covered with lightning, shaping some kind of shin-to-leg protector whilst his feet got claws as well. The unique part was his head; where the lightning was trailing up from Spiderman's spine and the back of his head to his forehead and shaped two identical horns of lightning. Trailing down his spine was a single lightning bolt which looked like a tail.  
>Although the lightning covered his body, didn't mean the torn Spiderman costume underneath it was repared. The costume was still in its battle-ravaged state and it never looked so bad. And through the battered mask, one lone right eye was visible.<p>

As Sasuke got a good look of the eye, a shiver ran down his spine. A shiver of an almost non-existent fear.

The eye was no longer in the shape of normal pupils; it was slitted, but whilst the usual Raibi eye was green, this one was dark blue with the slit in the middle colored red. And in a way, it struck fear deep in Sasuke's bones and nerves. As those eyes locked on Sasuke's, Spiderman—or whoever he, presumably, currently is—lets out a beastial growl. The growl was somewhat distorted; like a lion growling at its prey through a low-volume microphone.

For his part, Naruto just stared at the transformed Spiderman disbelievingly. The blond didn't understand what was going on, but Spiderman didn't seem to be paying attention to anything else except Sasuke. Though, he was still shocked even more by the change Spiderman had undergone. It looked distinctly similar to that of his Bijuu cloak, but at the same time it couldn't be said that what was now encasing Spiderman was the Bijuu cloak. The Bijuu cloak always resembles the tailed beast that one Jinchuuriki had inside him or her. But...

If that's the case, then Naruto would've guessed that the Bijuu inside Spiderman was a horned devil.

In Sasuke's mind, he was thinking the same thing as the male blonde. In his point of view, however, he was thinking of how he should defeat such an opponent. Or maybe how to survive it, rather. He IS, after all, the target of the masked hero's wrath. _'This—this feeling...! Is this power the same as Naruto's?'_

"_Just...JUST WHO ARE YOU!"_ All fear Sasuke had dissipated along with his shout, but his hesitation didn't. If anything, the doubt inside him was growing by each passing second. If he was really facing against an opponent who has the same kind of power as Naruto, he had no time to play around.

The azure, crimson-slitted eyes glared at Sasuke's Sharingan for a moment before a distorted chuckle came from Spiderman's mouth. The next thing that came was a bit of a shocker to the other two concious people because the voice that talked was just as distorted as the chuckle beforehand, _**"I tHiNk WhAt YoU wErE**__**rEAllY aSkiNg wAS wHAt I aM. I...aM yOUr wORsT niGHtmArE!"**_ The voice was very different from the normal Spiderman. And the tone he spoke with was a complete 180o of how he usually talks. It spooked Naruto, freezing him in place. There was a chilly edge to this transformed Spiderman's tone that sent goosebumps trailing up his spine.

The same type of fear was coursing through Sasuke's body, but he shot it down. Whatever actually happened to the masked hero, there's no way that guy could defeat him. Could he? _'Damn it! Focus, Uchiha! No more playing around. I'll bring this nobody down in an instant!'_ Sasuke thought, furiously shoving every bit of doubt into the farthest part of his mind.

"_**As fOr yOuR eaRLiEr qUesTiON..."**_ The distorted voice continued, as malevolent chakra kept pouring out of Spiderman's body. A grin made its way up the face under the web-motived mask when it spoke again, _**"I dON't hAvE a nAmE!"**_

In an instant, the transformed figure of Spiderman launched towards Sasuke in high speed. To the naked eye, all that was visible was a trail of blue lightning making its way to Sasuke, and that's exactly what Naruto was seeing. Even through the bloodline eyes of the Uchiha, it was barely trackable. Sasuke, by pure instinct, raised a clawed wing from his back to his front to block Spiderman's attack. Spiderman's attack came just as he predicted, but to his shock his wing was trembling under the force of the masked hero's fist and even Sasuke himself was pushed back.  
>With a roar, Spiderman raised his left fist and punched the blocking wing with enough force to send the cursed Uchiha flying. The distorted voice of the now transformed Spiderman laughed, <em><strong>"I'm nOt FiNisHed wiTH yoU!"<strong>_Before chasing the mid-air Uchiha again.

The previous roar awoken the unconcious Konoha ninjas. Yamato was the first one to wake up, his eyes blinking slowly at first to take in the sudden light. He opened his eyes completely as Naruto called his name loudly. His eyes searched the area for a while, his memories a bit fuzzy after the black out he had, _"What...?"_

"_Yamato-taichou!"_ Naruto called him once more. Said ANBU turned to Naruto and recognized Sakura, who was waking up, in his arms. _"Naruto, what happened?"_ He asked, dumbfounded. Naruto instead turned to the pink-haired girl in his arms, relieved that she finally came to, _"We gotta get to somewhere safe! Spiderman is fighting Sasuke right now, and we might get in their crossfire if we stay here!"_

The brown-haired team captain blinked. Now he was confused, _"Wasn't Spiderman unconcious just a while ago?"_

"_Then explain to me who THAT could be!"_ Naruto exclaimed, pointing to the sky behind Yamato; particularly to two figures throwing punches and kicks in mid-air. As Yamato set his eyes to where Naruto pointed, he froze in disbelief, _"That...that's Spiderman? What in the world happened to HIM?"_

Naruto began standing up, helping the now awaken Sakura up to her feet, _"I wish I can explain, but first we have to get somewhere else. There's no telling how much ground they'll lift up when they're fighting like that."_ Although he said it ever so calmly, deep inside Naruto had hesitation of leaving Spiderman to fight alone against Sasuke. But his teammates safety comes first. He would go help his costume-wearing friend after they get some shelter.

In the sky, Sasuke was trying his damnest to keep up with Spiderman's speed. Though his cursed seal was active and he can now fly, the ability of levitation gives him nothing but a dull edge in this fight. Spiderman's attack was relentless; high-speed lunges, lightning-fast punches and devastating kicks were all the pinnacle of his endless Taijutsu attacks. This time, as Spiderman rebounded away from Sasuke after a counter punch from the dark-haired Uchiha, it was Sasuke's turn to attack. Poising his blade forward for a flying stab, Sasuke dove towards the lightning-clad hero, his wings giving him an extra burst of speed.  
>However, his target interlaced his lightning-clawed finger together with the other hand and, placing his palms so that they were facing Sasuke, spread them outwards. While Spiderman's hands were now apart from each other, a net of pure lightning formed above his head, made from the earlier finger-interlacing. Sasuke's eyes registered the technique a second later than usual, and from the momentum he was going at he had no choice but to crash into the lightning-net.<p>

With a scream, Spiderman took in Sasuke momentum and back-flipped so that the winged shinobi was under him. Sasuke was now stopped in mid-air because of his earlier momentum absorbed by the surprisingly elastic net, and his eyes widen when his Sharingan read Spiderman's movement. Unfortunately for him, he had no way to dodge it, so blocking was his only way.

Spiderman , or at least the distorted voice in him, laughed like a maniac before yelling out, _**"FaLL!"**_He stomped forcefully on Sasuke with both legs, sending the Sannin disciple shooting down to the ground, gaining a grunt of pain from the Uchiha. Craters formed around where Sasuke landed in effect of the sudden weight on the ground. _**"SpLAsheD onE BiRD! hAhAhA!"**_

**xoxoxo**

Meanwhile, Yamato had made a shelter by caving in a wall with his Earth Style jutsu. It was pretty big to fit for all four of them, and since they all needed to take cover from the clashing attack between Spiderman and Sasuke, it was just convenient. _"So Naruto, would now be the time to explain what exactly happened to Spiderman?"_

Sakura and Sai, both awaken from their earlier black-out, stared at Naruto eagerly. The blonde himself shifted uncomfortably under the many pair of eyes staring at him, but eventually talked. _"I'm not really sure what happened to him. All I know is that just before Sasuke could pierce me through, Spiderman shot out and saved both me and Sakura-chan. He...he looks pretty much like how he currently is. Like that."_ Naruto pointed at the descending form that was Spiderman, still in his transformed state.

"_And other than the outer changes he endures...anything else?"_ Sakura piped in, getting more and more curious. Naruto looked at her, still relieved that she finally came to when he brought her into the shelter. _"He sounded different, if anything. And it doesn't sound like himself, at all. It's like...a completely different person."_ Sakura looked worriedly at her blonde teammate. He looked kind of strained, by something she didn't have any idea of. It was like he was hiding something.

"_Just...who is he, really?"_ all eyes were on Sai as he suddenly talked. Sai's eyes were looking in amazement at the masked hero, trembling a bit at the feeling of the malevolent chakra pouring out of the transformed Spiderman. _"All this chakra...it's just inhuman."_

Yamato stared at the Root ANBU member. _'He does has a point. After all the fight he'd been through in this mission, you'd think Spiderman would be depleted of chakra. But even after fighting against Naruto in his Kyuubi form, Spiderman didn't seem like he's tiring himself out...there's only one explanation for this.'_ Yamato though as he came up with a conclusion. _"Naruto...do you know who Spiderman really is?"_

The question itself wasn't exactly a "who" question. Rather, it inquired about "what" Spiderman is. Naruto held his breath, almost choking himself in surprise. To be honest, he didn't expect Yamato to know about **that** particular detail; especially when Naruto is the only one who already been told by Spiderman about what he had inside him.  
>Unfortunately, the fact that Spiderman had already transformed into something inhuman was enough to make anyone suspicious.<p>

"_...Yeah."_ Naruto said, releasing the breath he had held in shakily. _"Spiderman...is a Jinchuuriki."_

The reaction from everyone was just as Naruto expected. Sakura gasped, probably out of shock that the masked hero is also a Jinchuuriki like Naruto. Sai's face remained neutral. If anything, the only that changed was his slightly widened eyes, but that's all. Yamato was the one who seemed to take it normally. Instead, he sighed, _"I see. So there IS a reason Tsunade-sama sent him along with us."_

Naruto looked down at the ground below him. He never felt so low before.

He had just told one of Spiderman's secrets; him being a Jinchuuriki. He cursed himself for letting it slip his tongue. Why couldn't he just lie? Spiderman obviously wanted him to keep his secret, since he told Naruto and Naruto only. Not even Sakura seemed to know about this.

Is it going to be alright, letting them know about this?

"_But...I thought he came from America. There's no Bijuu there, is there?"_ Sakura asked expectantly. Naruto looked at her sympathetically, shaking his head, _"I wish I know, Sakura-chan. Spiderman didn't tell me how he ended up with a Bijuu inside him; he just told me he did."_ Sakura wasn't satisfied with the answer, but she nodded knowing she wouldn't know anything more.

"_Putting the fact aside, how do you think we're suppose to get out of here? We got no way out, and even if we do, Spiderman is still fighting."_ Sai asked. He was beginning to get a bit anxious, though it didn't show. Yamato shook his head, _"There's no telling who'll kill who at this rate. All we can do is to wait."_

Yamato's plan, no matter how unuseful, proved to be the only way to go through this predicament. So they waited until the crossfire between the two transformed ninjas cease.

**xoxoxo**

Sasuke stood up, screaming as a flare of chakra lifted any nearby dusts. Spiderman, now on the ground, prepared himself for anything that was going to come at him. Sasuke glared at him, his eyes full of hatred, _"You're going to pay for that!" _Sasuke's hand weaved through several handseals and again stopped at the Tiger seal. He inhaled deeply before letting out several breaths of flames in the shape of a dragon's head, _"Katon: Goryuuka no Jutsu _(Fire Style: Great Fire Dragon Jutsu)_!"_

The dragon-shaped flames flew towards Spiderman, who was grinning wickedly despite his condition. Just as the flames neared him, he activated his Spider Reflexes and began to see through the movements of the flames. He ducked under the first one, letting it sail past his head. He saw the other two coming and flipped forward, vaulting over the two flames and, as he saw the last three barrage of fireballs, created a clone and kicked it to gain extra height. One of the last flames managed to burn a part of his mask where his mouth should be, but he ripped that part of the mask off to prevent it from burning his face entirely.

Sasuke smirked. Even though the fireballs missed, that doesn't entire mean it won't hit his target. The fireballs were now heading towards the shelter Naruto and the other were hiding in.

That exact time, Spiderman spasmed in mid-air. As he landed, he held his head, clutching it tightly, _**"FiNe! WhAtEVer yOu sAY!"**_ And then, Spiderman dashed backwards, chasing the fireballs inbound for the shelter. Sasuke quirked an eyebrow curiously, _'Just now...what was that?'_

Spiderman's leg protector seemed to serve more to increase his speed rather than weigh him down. Streaks of lightning were left behind him as he dashed past the fireballs, passing by them as his speed continued to increase. He kept running until he was right in front of the shelter, to which he skidded to a halt. The fireballs were nearing him once again, but his reactions were seconds faster. The webslinger shot out two lines of web to his opposite sides, crossing his arms while he did so; his right hand shooting to the left while his left one shooting to the right. Both web lines stuck to a massive boulder each. With a mighty heave, he tugged on the web lines and pulled the boulders to him. When the boulders were close enough that—if left as it was—would crush Spiderman in between, said hero placed both of his hands to each boulders, sticking to his hands because of his wall-clinging abilities. He placed his hands gently, but the boulder stopped flying towards him effectively. He then brought both boulders in front of him to shield him from the fireballs. A loud crack sounded when he slammed both boulders to each other.

When the fireballs hit, there was something more than a few explosions that drove Spiderman back a few steps, but he stood his ground. The boulders were charred in contact of the dragonoid fireballs, but fortunately it held the flames in place.

Naruto blinked. Just a minute ago, Sasuke's fire jutsu was heading towards the lot of them. However, Spiderman jumped in front of them and saved them. Question is, if that so, doesn't that means he is in control? Is he in control of his Bijuu mode?

"_Hey...hey, Spiderman! Is that really you in there?"_ He tried to get an answer for his questions. The figure in front of him, however, chuckled deviously, _**"Who'rE yOu cALLinG, bRAt?"**_

All of the present Konoha ninjas tensed. They all reached for their weapons, afraid that this transformed version of Spiderman might attack at any moment. To their surprise, the distorted voice chuckled, showing no tone of hostility against them, _**"No nEEd tO wET yOuR pAntS!"**_ he turned his head towards them, showing the single, crimson-slitted azure eyes and the playful grin half-visible under his mask. _**"Ou-sAMa**__**1**__** sAiD hE DoEsN't wAnT AnY cAsUaLTies. KEH! ThE ArrOgAnT bAsTarD!"**_

Slightly taken aback by the rude tone the voice-controlling-Spiderman used to address Spiderman, Naruto went slack-jawed. Now he had a definite proof that whoever was controlling Spiderman was not the nut-cracking web-slinger himself. This guy is someone else.  
>Behind him, Sakura was going through the same line of thought. But the thing that had caught her attention was something else, <em>"Ou-sama...? Who are you talking about?"<em>

To her annoyance, the voice inside Spiderman didn't answer; opting to throw both boulders in his hands away and charged towards Sasuke, laughing maniacally. _'Talk about overkill.'_ She thought.

Yamato stared at the exchange dumbly, his mind going blank for several good seconds. That was, until he regained his composure and shook his head to clear his mind. _"Uh...okay. From the way he said it, this 'Ou-sama' must be the real Spiderman. Does that mean he's somehow in control?"_

"_No one can tell at this point. But your guess might be correct,"_ Sai piped in, throwing in his thoughts into action, _"There's a possibility that Spiderman isn't going in full rampage, after all."_

**xoxoxo**

_Meanwhile, in Spiderman's subconcious..._

While the insane version of Spiderman was rampaging in the real world, deep inside his mind sat both the real him and Raibi; both sitting in a lotus position, unmoving. If one would look closely, they could see the wrinkles on Spiderman's mask. It was caused by the strained face under it, which was clearly proof that Spiderman was enduring some type of pain. 'Oi, Raibi. Do you think we can really trust him?' His hands were shaped into Ram seal, while a shining chakra line was connecting him to Raibi's hand—which was also being held in a Ram seal—behind him.

The giant blue wolf behind him nodded slowly, his eyes travelling to the screen in front of them which was used to see the real world. **'Of course. There's no way he'd betray you. Well, at least not when you're still the King of your own mind.'**

'You talk like I won't be for long.' Spiderman said, pouting childishly. 'The lack of faith you have in me is veeery supporting.'

The Bijuu chuckled, **'It's not that I don't have faith in you. I'm just saying, you're still in control as long as you're in control.'**

Spiderman looked back from his shoulder, a sweat dropping on his forehead, 'That makes even less sense. Anyway, mind explaining what exactly happened after I ripped off the paper seal before?'

'**To put it simply, my chakra mixed up with yours.'** Raibi said, huffing out a breath that stunk of charred meat. Spiderman wrinkled his nose at the smell; it smelled like a cow died from lightning strike. 'And if that so, why is there some kind of negative-me controlling my body out there?'

'**...That's...that might be my fault, actually.'** Raibi said, scratching his furred cheek using one of his lightning-like tails. **'That "negative-side" of you is there because of my chakra entering your system. You see, my chakra holds two important elements; one is the chakra which grants my Jinchuuriki the power to control lightning, and the other is a mental conciousness which laid dormant inside me.'**

'Dormant?' Spiderman's eyes travelled to the screen in front of him. Now it was showing the figure of Spiderman breathing out a fireball towards him; no doubt a proof that the brutal was still continuing. 'That's anything but dormant.'

'**Let me finish.'** Raibi growled lowly. **'This mental conciousness takes form of any person that becomes my Jinchuuriki. Only difference is, its mental state of mind is a mixture of every negative emotions its Jinchuuriki has. Sounds familiar?'**

Spiderman squinted at the sight of Sasuke charging towards him—or to be precise, towards the other him—with a Chidori in hand. 'You mean my black suit?'

'**Exactly. And, just like your black suit, it will awaken once it acknowledges a Jinchuuriki as its master. Though, to be frank, your black suit is more submissive than this...rabid transformation of yours.'** Rabid might not be the exact word to put it, but it was close. Furthermore, the Nega-Spiderman's inhuman laugh could be considered "rabid" by others. Like the one he just let out as he side-stepped Sasuke's Chidori and grabbed his wrist, then throwing him away once again. 'As if I could miss that.' Spiderman said back, sweat-dropping.

'**Also, the interesting fact is though all Bijuu have these, if you prefer, "dark sides" inside them,"** Raibi continued, again ignoring Spiderman entirely, **'As far as I know the only one who has the ability to both Manifest and Control the dark sides is Kyuubi. And in turn, so can I, being his clone and all.'**

'Manifest and control? I get what you meant by manifest. I mean, there's dark-me out there. But what do you mean by control?' Spiderman asked. He was also curious about why are Kyuubi and Raibi the only ones able to do both things, but he held the question knowing he was more curious of his earlier question.

'**These...dark sides are mainly a mixture of a little bit of our chakra, plus a huge amount of our hatred, rage and other dark emotions. Most Bijuu succumbs to their own dark sides, unable to contain their own hatred. The ones that eventually control their negative emotions are the Jinchuuriki.' **Raibi paused, inhaling a deep breath before exhaling it again. And Spiderman could smell that charred-cow scent again. **'The worst, however, would be Bijuu who can control that hatred to his will. Take an example out of Kyuubi if you might; for what I know he doesn't only has control over hatred. He is hatred itself. Though on the bright side he's not a mindless rampaging killing machine, the downside is he uses his hatred to control other weak-willed beings. Not much are able to withstand Kyuubi's dark intentions, humans much more at that. Frankly, I'm surprised that there are Jinchuuriki who can refuse his hatred. His **_**Meiton: Nikushimi no Seigyo **_**(Dark Style: Control of Hatred) is terrifying.**

'**And then, there is the ability to manifest the dark side. An ability called **_**Meiton: Ikari no Kengen**_** (Dark Style: Manifestation of Rage). Again, Bijuus from Ichibi to Hachibi don't have this ability. Now, even though I haven't personally seen Kyuubi use this ability himself, I can see him using parts of this ability to corrupt Naruto's way of thinking.'**

Spiderman just sat there with his head still turned to Raibi, mouth agape. 'What the hell? So that's what turned Naruto into the four-tailed beast before?'

'**Indirectly, yes.'**

'Then how can you control YOUR hatred so well? If you're anything like Kyuubi, then you should at least have this unstable hatred or something, shouldn't you?'

Raibi's eyes flickered. The usual green eyes he had changed into the same red-slitted blue eyes that Nega-Spiderman had. He growled at his Jinchuuriki, **'First, let me remind you that I'm NOTHING like him!' **Spiderman cringed at the chilly tone Raibi used, almost sounding like he was spitting out the words he just said. **'Second, to answer your first question, I can't control it very well. And that's because the amount of hatred I used to have as Kyuubi's clone.'** Raibi looked at the costumed man in front of him, almost rolling his eyes as he continued, **'Yes, I do have that unstable hatred from Kyuubi. As if these eyes aren't enough of a testament for that.' **The wolf pointed at his two transformed eyes,** 'As the cause of my inability to control that hatred, the only thing I could do to prevent it from controlling me is to let it effect my other ability, Manifestation. The effect is the crazed abomination of a dark side taking control of your body out there.'**

At that moment, Spiderman caught something from the way Raibi talked. Call it Bijuu-Jinchuuriki empathy, but he was sure Raibi sounded...apologetic. He grinned widely at his nine-tailed wolf prisoner, somehow feeling happy that his Bijuu cared so much. 'Hey, Raibi...'

The blue wolf raised his head in response. 'I'll definitely control that hatred. I won't let you hold that burden all by yourself, not as long as I'm the Jinchuuriki imprisoning you!' Spiderman promised loudly, gaining a sharp intake of breath from the gargantuan being behind him.

Raibi was frozen shock by Spiderman's words. Not only that he promise he'll control the hatred he had brought along from Kyuubi, but he also mentioned said hatred as his own burden. Raibi could only shake his head, chuckling to himself and wondering how can the web-slinger take so much of other's burdens as his responsibility. Maybe there is a reason Madam Web sealed him inside a guy like him.

'But, he can hold off Sasuke longer than I could. Just how much stronger is he?' The "guy like him" asked as childish curiosity got the better of him again.

'**To be frank, he's five-fold the strength of you, and two times stronger than your black suit.'**

'Daaaamn.' Spiderman let out.

Raibi chuckled again, amused by Spiderman's comment. He was pretty sure if it were anyone else, they would be ecstatic that they have something several times stronger than themselves inside them. By how Spiderman voiced his thoughts, however, his furred ears picked up a tone of envy from his Jinchuuriki. **' Wanna see something else? Watch.'** Raibi closed his eyes, falling silent and ignored Spiderman's questioning look. In actuality, Raibi was trying to establish a mental connection between him and Nega-Spiderman. When he was connected, he opened his eyes, still the same red-slitted azure orbs, and thought out aloud, **'You might want to level some ground up a bit.'**

**xoxoxo**

_Back in the real world..._

As soon as Raibi established a mental connection with him, Nega-Spiderman felt a ringing sensation in his head. Huffing out indignantly, he pressed his pointer and middle finger to his temple. _**"WhaT dO yOu WaNt, yOu RetaRdED fURbaLL?"**_ His hostile demeanor, however, disappeared when Raibi gave him some instructions relating to 'levelling up some ground'. A maniacal grin spread across his mouth, _**"HeLL yEAh! LeAVe iT tO mE, oLD tiMEr!"**_

By that time, Sasuke had already stood up; his Sharingan blazing when he glared at his opponent, promising him pain. His wings spread once more as he took flight. As he was several feet above the ground, he bit his thumb and smeared his own blood on his palm. His hands then blurred in several hand seals, stopping at one. He screamed out, as right palm was facing down, _"Kuchiyose no Jutsu _(Summoning Jutsu)_!"_

A gigantic puff of smoke rose from the ground, seemingly towering above Nega-Spiderman. As the wind snuffed the smoke away, it revealed three identical giant snakes. It might be about twenty stories high, but Nega-Spiderman's grin just got wider with each passing second. _**"hOhO! tHiS iS GeTTiNG iNTerEsting!"**_He let out.

Sasuke landed on the head of snake which was summoned in the middle of its two other twins. He raised his left hand, gesturing to the snake to his left, _"Kill him."_ He commanded. The snake did as it was told to, and charged forward with its mouth open wide; its teeth glistening in the sunlight. Nega-Spiderman's superior speed made him easily dodge out of the way of the hungry snake, while countering its lunge attack with a sweeping claw attack that hit the snake's right side. The snake's scales proved to be a formidable armor, as the claw attack only made several bleeding scars to its side.

Nega-Spiderman clicked his tongue in dissapointment. That claw attack should've ravaged the oversized snake in one swipe. It was then that he realized that he was surrounded by the three gigantic snakes from his two, six, and ten o'clock. Now, it was Sasuke's turn to smirk smugly as his hand pointed to Nega-Spiderman, silently commanding the snakes to ram towards their small meal. However, as the snakes' head descended towards him, Nega-Spiderman's rabid laugh came out again. _**"SeEMs tHAt I DO nEeD to LeVeL uP sOMe GrOunD, afTEr aLL!"**_

His hands blurred, making several hand seals that, coupled with his speed, was barely trackable by Sasuke's Sharingan. When he finished, the devil look-alike clasped his hand as if in prayer, the lightning armor coating his body glowed brightly and crackled loudly. He then looked up at Sasuke and the snakes, grinning as seven spots around him cracked with electricity. One second later, those spots shot upwards to the sky as he yelled out, _**"RAITON: SHICHI MATENROU**_(Lightning Style: Seven Skyscrapers)_**!"**_The pillar-shaped beams of light impaled the snakes, both halting their advance and killing them instantly. The light pillar grazed Sasuke's right side wing, and it would've went through him directly if his Sharingan hadn't seen through the jutsu. Sasuke flew away, seemingly having a limp in his flight and an angry scowl on his face. He landed on the upper ridge, and he got a stinging feeling coursing through his right wing.

It would be a fact that the attack managed to actually scar his right wing. The level two Joutai transformation actually grants the user hardened skin; though not as hard as any armor, but usually proves to be formiadable to some attacks. _'That means even this form can't handle attacks like that...DAMN IT! How the hell is this possible?'_ He thought, his mind burning with rage. Sasuke was not a type of person who takes inferiority so lightly; moreso that he was proven inferior to a nobody. A clanless coward who hid behind a mask.  
>But to his dismay, he had to admit that his opponent was too strong for him to dance along with. With no more option, he mentally decided to resort to using <em>that<em> jutsu again.

'_I have no other choices. Frankly, I hate to waste chakra on someone like him, but he's not going down easily. Furthermore, I'm already running low on chakra.'_ Sasuke looked to the sky. _'Besides, the weather seems perfect for a lightning to strike.'_ Clouds were gathering in the once clear sky, not much but enough to make it look cloudy. Sasuke's hands once again blurred through some hand seals, stopping once again at a Tiger seal which meant his attack was meant to be Fire element. Nega-Spiderman noticed this and readied himself for another dodging action...

Only to see Sasuke breathed out several dragon-head flames to the sky; no doubt his _Katon: Goryuuka no Jutsu_ that had tried to scorch him moments ago. _**"Oi, wHErE tHe HeLL aRe yOu aiMiNG yOUr stiNK bReAtH tO?"**_ The lightning-coated man let out, aggravated that he didn't get to humiliate the chicken-ass haired Uchiha further by dodging the fireballs.

Sasuke smiled smugly as the draconoid fireballs flew to the sky and into the clouds. He turned to his enemy below him, his transformed Sharingan boring into one of the exposed, red-slitted blue eyes of his target. _"This is going to be my strongest jutsu since my bloodline. I'll obliterate you in a single blow!"_

At first, Nega-Spiderman stared blankly at Sasuke, taking his ranting as nothing more but a bull's shit to spit out. But then, he noticed the dark thunder clouds gathering above him in the sky. A minute ago, there wasn't any thunder clouds, were they? But then, some clouds just apparated itself here. _**'Oi, oU-sAmA! GoT aN ExplANatiON fOR tHiS?**_**'** He screamed mentally to his real self.

**xoxoxo**

Deep in the subconcious of one web-headed hero, said person was trying to figure out just how the hell did Sasuke summoned **clouds**? Freaking **clouds**! Unless...

'The heat from his Fire jutsu before! It heats up the atmosphere, raised the air pressure and the humidity of the sky, which in turn compressed more moisture in the sky and made on instant thunder cloud! He just formed a freaking Cumulonimbus!'

'**A thunder cloud...'** Raibi muttered. He looked up to the vision screen to see what Nega-Spiderman was seeing. **'Call it intuition, but that thunder cloud could be Sasuke's weapon.'**

'What do you mean?' Spiderman asked, turning his head to the Bijuu.

'_**YeaH, wHAt thE heLL dOEs tHaT sUppOSe tO mEAn?'**_ His darker counterpart chorused, his voice echoed through the sewer-like mindscape.

Spiderman noted that, though Nega-Spiderman talked—or thought, since they were in a mindscape—in Japanese, he somehow understood what he was saying. And seeing the topic the dark side of him just asked, it seems it was vice versa. He made a mental note to ask Raibi about this later; he was currently more curious about Sasuke's "weapon" that Raibi talked about.

'**Sasuke's jutsu were mainly **_**Katon**_** (Fire Style) and **_**Raiton**_** (Lightning Style) throughout the battle. It's safe to assume that he's going to use a thunder cloud for a Lightning jutsu.'** Raibi explained, gaining understanding "oh"s from both his Jinchuuriki and his dark side.

'A Lightning jutsu of that size...there's no doubt that it will hit not only us, but Naruto and the others as well.'

'_**WeLL, I sAy wE giVE cHiCKeN-aSS heAd a tASte oF HiS oWN mEdiciNE! ClaSH hiS rAiToN jUtSu wiTH oUr oWN!'**_ Nega-Spiderman suggestion caught Raibi's interest. **'How are you going to do that?' **He asked rather skeptically. The rabid dark side just laughed out like Raibi just told him a funny joke, before shooting back at Raibi, _**'Don'T aCt LikE yOU dON't kNOw, oLD tiMER! I knOW yOu haVE a gRanD jUTSu uP yOUr HaiRy sLEEve pOWErfuL eNOugH tO COuntEr UcHiGaY's jUTsU! uSE ThaT!'**_

Raibi's eyes widened considerably. His jaw tightened to the point where his teeth grinded against each other. The jutsu Nega-Spiderman suggested was...too destructive. Yet, it was maybe the only way they could win against Sasuke's mysterious jutsu. But there was one problem that he found disturbing, **'How did you know about that?'** Raibi growled at the negative web-slinger. The person he growled at in turn let out a chuckle that echoed through Spiderman's mindscape. _**'DiD yOu foRGeT? wE aRe oNE, tHeRefORe**_ _**OuR miNDs aRe aS wELL! I kNOw evErY biT of eVErY SecREt jutSU yoU'Re hiDinG. iT'S a SHamE yoU hAVeN't tAUght tHEm tO oU-sAmA; iT wOULd bE oNe hEckUva bLAsT!'**_

'What? What are you two talking about? What jutsu are you hiding, Raibi?' Spiderman's confusion and curiosity went over the edge, that much was obvious. Raibi regarded him with narrowed eyes, silently cursing himself. **'Peter, we're going to merge all of our chakra together. All three of us are needed for this jutsu to work perfectly. It's going to be a pain, but concentrate on merging our chakra in your body.'**

'But, just what jutsu are yo—"

'**You'll see.'** Raibi cut him off. **'Now concentrate. Take your chakra, my chakra, and your dark side's chakra. Let it flow through your body.'**

Spiderman closed his eyes and concentrated. He imagined that, with imaginary hands, he took his chakra, Raibi's and Nega-Spiderman's chakra out. The picture he used to concentrate on merging the three chakra types was the image of him spinning his version of Rasengan. 'Rotation...Power...and Completion!' He then imagined the mixture of the three chakras entering his body. He gritted his teeth. At that time, a spock of black made itself visible on the tip of the nose part of his mask.  
><strong>'Don't let your black suit take over! It'll unbalance our chakra!'<strong> Raibi bellowed, noticing the spider insignia on his Jinchuuriki's back slowly changing.

With a strangled cry, the black suit's take over halted and the symbiotic substance receeded. At that exact time, the chakra mixture has entered his body.  
>When Spiderman opened his eyes, they were the same as Raibi's and Nega-Spiderman's; red-slitted blue orbs.<p>

'We're ready.'

**xoxoxo**

Out in the real world, it seemed that Nega-Spiderman has calmed down.

Sasuke took notice of this, but paid no heed. Instead, he looked at the thunder cloud he just formed which was getting larger within every second that passed. His clawed hands blurred through several hand seals. However, in the middle of forming said hand seals, he realized that Nega-Spiderman was forming his own set of hand seals; his hand blurring at the same speed as Sasuke's.

'_A counter jutsu?'_ Sasuke thought as he finished his set of hand seals and his left hand crackled with lightning, looking like an underpowered version of his Chidori. He directed his hand to the skies; to be precise, the thunder cloud. As he did, a huge barrage of lightning formed and moved above Sasuke. Several of them making impacts to the earth itself, trembling the ground. Nega-Spiderman was calm enough not to move, seeing the bolts not moving to attack him. The lightning bolts then merged, taking a shape of a massive, angry-looking dragonoid form with lightning bolts jumping in and out of its form. Sasuke glared at his opponent standing on the lower grounds, smiling evilly at him, _"You won't be able to dodge this jutsu. It's faster than light, faster than the likes of you..."_ Sasuke's left hand was still in the air, controlling his lightning summon to his will. His hand-like wings were spread wide; giving out an eerie sense of fear, _"You won't survive my Kirin _(Unexpected Cut)_2__."_

However, despite everything, a chuckle came out from the costume-wearing man in front of him. Only, the chuckle wasn't the distorted, dark chuckle that he had heard numerous times before during his fight. Granted, his voice was still heavy, but there was a hint of amusement in his tone; a somewhat annoying one. _**"If there's one thing that you have, Sasuke, it's a truckload of arrogance."**_ It was the voice of the real Spiderman. His cheery, taunting way to talk was the proof of that. _**"You seem pretty sure you had me. I'll show you..."**_ He raised both of his lightning-coated hands to the sky, gaining a roaring thunderclap resounding through the sky. _**"That not even your eyes**__**3**__** can see the future."**_ That being said, the thunderclaps begin to get louder. After one ear-piercing clap, two pillar-like lightning shot down from the enormous thunder cloud. Both lightning bolts each spun quickly, resembling that of a drill. The lightning bolts began to take form as they descended; growing a head that resembles that of a dragon. Both lightning bolts then stopped at Spiderman's sides, seemingly latching to their place by the command of his arms. The lightning bolts themselves were still attached to the thunder clouds, so it looked like twin serpentine dragons falling from the sky. Spiderman himself was in mid-crouch position, his stance looked like he was being weighed down by the two lightning dragons by his sides. After a strangled grunt, Spiderman let out a laugh of pure excitement.

He then declared his jutsu's name, _**"Raiton: Futago no Ikazuchiryú **_(Lightning Style: Twin Lightning Dragon)_!"_

At the sight of the jutsu, there are three things coursing through Sasuke's mind.  
>First, there was anger. Not to say that there wasn't any anger throughout the fight, but now his anger just got amplified. Anger towards his opponent that seemed so strong that, for once, Sasuke let himself thought that Spiderman was invincible. Second, there was anxiety, plus a tiny bit of doubt. If the chakra Spiderman was harvesting out of his own body means anything, his jutsu wasn't anything to take lightly. Third, there was...disgust. For what Spiderman did was to make a failed copy of his Kirin. It would be pretty humiliating if Sasuke was to lose to a jutsu that didn't even looked original.<p>

"_There's no way you can win, even with a jutsu like that. You can never beat me. I'm an Uchiha!"_ He bellowed, rearing his left hand, readying to strike. He closed his hand-like wings to prevent getting scorched by his own jutsu. In return, Spiderman let out another laugh, rearing both of his arms back for preparation. He screamed out, _**"I told you...DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME!"**_ Both monster-of-a-ninja attacked each other at once; Sasuke waving his raised hand down and bringing his Kirin down from the skies, while Spiderman launched his twin dragons from his sides by punching the air with his open palms. Two—no, three in this case—dragons launched towards their respective target. _Kirin_, transforming into one gigantic lightning bolt with the radius coping all of the battlefield, striked from the sky to the ground. The _Ikazuchiryú _twins raised their heads and flew with great speed, striking from the ground to the sky and setting themselves in a collision course with Kirin.

"_Disappear along with thunder..."_ Sasuke chanted.

"_**Tear the sky open..."**_ Spiderman chanted, himself.

"_KIRIN!" __**"FLY!"**_Went the battle cries from Sasuke and Spiderman, respectively.

Both of their jutsu clashed with each other. The result was a deafening thunder clap, which, not to be overreacting, had the force of Little Boy's explosion. The ground itself shook from the trembling force, and even forming several fissures. The shelter which Naruto, Sakura, Sai and Yamato was taking cover in was shaken so forceful that it almost caved in had Yamato didn't used his Wood Style jutsu to make a support beam to the shelter's roof. He had to, seeing that going outside was even more dangerous of an idea. Not to say that anybody had any suggestions regarding going outside, anyways. It was as if they were bolted to their places.

Amidst the light, if one could see through its blinding shine, one could see that both Sasuke's _Kirin _and Spiderman's _Ikazuchiryú_ were stuck in a stalemate. Both were unable to overcome the other, but neither were backing off. Sasuke could be seen gritting his teeth, trying to force more of his chakra into his controlled lightning bolt. His Joutai form was beginning to turn darker in color, while his long greyish hair grew a bit longer. A mark around his eyes not unlike that of Orochimaru's eye liner appeared.

Spiderman was not in a better shape himself. His arms were now trembling just to sustain the impact force of _Kirin_. He was taking, merging and unleashing the chakra amalgam of his, Raibi's and Nega-Spiderman's chakra constantly. He took notice before that he couldn't control his _Ikazuchiryú_ with his chakra alone. But everytime he used his mixed chakra, his lightning armor crackled out of control. Now, from other people's perspective, the armor was just that; an armor. Unfortunately, under the lightning armor Spiderman's costume was being scorched and charred. The same could be said about his skin, of course. His armor was turning more and more into something like that of Naruto's Nine-Tailed cloak.

But still, none of the two backed down. It was as if the will to win was transferred from the two ninjas to their respective jutsu. Eventually, in an explosion filled with blinding lights and cries of thunder, the two jutsu ceased to exist. The explosion threw Spiderman off of his feet, while the same happened to Sasuke but he regained his balance using his wings mid-flight.

After the explosion ceased, Spiderman raised from the ground. His upper body covered with pebbles previously blown by the explosion. He grunted. 'I feel like my whole insides are burning.'

'_**hEh, tOLd yOU oU-SaMa sHOuLd'vE LeARned tHiS juTSu eARLieR!'**_ Came a reply from his mind.

'**I still go against the idea. You okay, Peter?'**

Spiderman raised to his feet, holding his knees for support. He felt drained of energy. Try as he might, the only thing that kept him moving was Raibi's chakra, and even that was very minimal due to his seal being closed again. The lightning armor coating his body begin to disappear little by little. The armor around his arm and legs immediately vapored out of existence. The small horns of lightning grew smaller each passing seconds until it was no more. And his lightning-like tail swirled around before dissapearing as if blown by the wind.

'We...we did it. The three of us...'

Not a minute later, the other members of the Konoha team emerged from their shelter. They felt curious, though relieved, that the thundering booms had ceased. A shock of spiky yellow hair came out first from the shadowed shelter, followed by a pink companion. Once Naruto had his eyes on Spiderman crouching figure, a grin formed on his face, threatening to split his face in two. He laughed, hesitantly at first, but immediately getting louder.

He couldn't believe it. Not even Sasuke could put the web-slinger down.

Sakura's emerald-colored eyes stared disbelievingly at their saviour; specifically at the charred spider insignia on his tattered costume, thinking, _'He looks like he's hurt bad...but...'_ Hearing Naruto's loud laugh, she began to let out breath. A breath that she didn't realize she was holding in, a breath she let out becasue she was shocked yet undoubtly happy at the same time. _'He's alive! Even against Sasuke, Spiderman didn't die!'_

As Sasuke landed from his flight, he let out a hurting groan. His Curse Mark began to fail him; his Joutai Level-Two transformation receeding back and the greyish color disappeared entirely from his body. In the process, the curse mark receeded back to the right side of Sasuke's neck, turning back to the sharingan-like tattoo. He glared at Spiderman, moreso after he heard the sounds of the Konoha team rejoicing over their victory. _'NO! They haven't won. This...this isn't over yet!'_

His right hand shook as he grasped his Kusanagi and slowly unsheathed it, _'I...'_ As he was half-way on completely unsheathing his sword, he used his body-flicker and dashed towards his next target. Or, from the looks of it, it could be said that his next target was his previous one.

'_I __**won't**__ be stopped here!'_

He poised his sword to slash through Naruto.

And through it all, it almost like it happened in slow-motion. Every flash-step Sasuke took made visible craters from his attempt to speed up. Naruto blinked, surprised to see Sasuke charging towards him. Too surprised.

In the middle their celebration, their moment of rejoicing, he let his guard down. He let his senses dull and failed him. He let himself be an easy target. He let himself to assume that Sasuke was down for good. But most of all...

He let his surprise to freeze him when Spiderman rose to his feet once more, battered and in tattered clothes, and stands in the way between him and Sasuke.

'_No.'_

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he was once again denied of his satisfaction. He growled as his normal eyes—the ones which were colored pure black—glared into Spiderman's eyes. His was also normal, brown in color. _"Any last words?"_ He said as he halted his dash just in front Spiderman, holding his Kusanagi in a reverse-grip.

Spiderman looked at the Uchiha as the sword of his imminent doom was raised. For a moment, he tried to humor himself. Sasuke suggested him to say something, anything as his last words. Maybe saying "shame on you, Uchiha, because you're a bastard." Or "piss off, SasuGay!" While raising his middle finger wouldn't hurt, but it wouldn't be useful either. Plus, it would ruin the moment.

He realized that maybe the youth had a point; what, with him running low on chakra and his body beaten up beyond recognition, he might be saying his last words. Yet, knowing this, he jumped in front of Naruto to use himself as a shield. Damn him for taking Uncle Ben's teachings as his nindo. He chuckled to himself.

"_You won't pass."_

He would give his life to protect whatever responsibility he was given, as long as his power enables him to.

Sasuke's sword descended, making countless slashes in high speed, while still grasping his sword in a reverse-grip. The last one was a slash that went through Spiderman. When Sasuke finished his slash combo, he was standing behind Spiderman, facing the opposite of where his opponent was.

Spiderman blinked. He was expecting to get cut into countless pieces, but on the contrary...nothing happened. 'Did he...miss?' Was his first thought, but it dispersed when he heard Sasuke said something while sheathing his sword.

"_Hanauta Sancho..."_ As Sasuke completely sheathed his sword, he finished his words, _"Yahazu Giri_ (Three-Verse Hummming: Arrow Notch Slash)_."_

In a flash, countless slash marks appeared on Spiderman's body. The victim himself was taken aback by the jutsu, being completely sure that he didn't felt anything when Sasuke attacked him. Unless... 'He moved so fast that even the slashes couldn't keep up with him...amazing.' He thought. In reality though, he yelled out in pain as he fell.

Naruto's eyes widened. He saw it clearly; the fountain of blood rushing out of Spiderman's body, how he fell heaplessly to the ground. He couldn't help it, he screamed as he was too shocked to say anything otherwise.

"_No...SPIDERMAN!"_

End of Chapter 24

**xoxoxo**

**Hell yeah! Downright epic! Now that would be an action scene I would be dying to see, figuratively speaking. Hey, I don't wanna die just to see that...do I? Hehehe, kidding. Sorry for the late update as usual; I started writing this chapter back in...April I guess. Guess I can't control time, now can I?**

**Sakura: Quit with the rheotorical question, they might get confused!  
>Me:They would, wouldn't they?<br>Sakura: AAAGH!  
>Me: Yep, you totally sounded like a broken Hatsune Miku synthesizer.<strong>

**Now putting the usual jokes aside, how do you like Spiderman's very own Bijuu cloak? Sure, it might not be so far off from Kishi-sensei's idea, but it should get some credit, at least. I based it off of how Blue Exorcist's Okumura Rin would look like if he was son of some lightning demon instead of Satan. Pretty much did it, I guess :p Hope that wasn't too much of faking copyrights.**

_**Jutsu Description**_** (Of this chapter and chapter 23)**

_Fushi no Jutsu_ and _Tensei ninjutsu_ (Immortality Jutsu and Transfer ninjutsu):- I'm not explaining these two. If you don't know what it is, you certainly haven't spend your time reading the Naruto manga series so much. :p

_Katon: Housenka no Jutsu_ (Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu):- One of Sasuke's favorite jutsu, since he can use it while coupling it with several hidden shurikens. A jutsu where he spews out several regular-sized fireballs. Effective while in high speed fights.

_Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu _(Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu):- In case anyone's wondering, it's the basic jutsu every Uchiha clan member needs to successfully use in order to be granted the privilege to bear the Uchiha fan insignia on their clothes. Or so the canon says. The fact is, if one would to learn the jutsu, it's fairly easy to use. But that doesn't mean this jutsu's dectructive power is something to trifle with.

_Katon: Goryúka no Jutsu_ (Fire Style: Great Fire Dragon Jutsu):- Sasuke's jutsu, where he breaths out dragonoid-headed fireballs. The intensity of each fireballs are extreme, to the point where it could heat up the lowest level of the atmosphere and create a thunder cloud through heating the air circulation around a certain spot.

_Chidori Nagashi_ (Chidori Stream):- Sasuke's jutsu, where he generated his Chidori from throughout his body. He should first charge a Chidori on his left hand, then let it stream throughout his body. The process of using this jutsu is similar to when Neji uses his Kaiten; specifically the way he generates his chakra from all of his tenketsu.

_Chidori _(Thousand Birds):- Yeah, well you know the drill. But to be specific; Sasuke's jutsu. Turning his chakra into lightning in terms of elemental affinity, he focused all of it onto his hand, generating a lightning hand-blade that could cut through armor. The jutsu itself makes sounds like that of thousand birds chirping when activated, thus the name.

Spiderman's lightning sabers:- No legal name, yet. I plan to make one on the second part of this trilogy, so just wait. Spiderman's control over lightning enables him to discharge a continuous flow of concentrated lightning, forming a blade of lightning out of his outer wrist. In a sense, the lightning sabers are chakra swords, so it is able to cut through normal swords.

Sasuke's time disturbance Genjutsu:- Now, I know this shouldn't be explained, at all. But, seeing this might be questionable by some readers, I think I shall. Sasuke's time disturbance jutsu—the one he used on Spiderman before he used a barrage of punches to knock him out cold—is actually a special Genjutsu he wasn't planning on using too soon. The Genjutsu, though superficial in terms of effect, could be fatal if he used it since the beginning of a fight. He used this once in his fight against Danzou in the manga series. In my point of view, this miniscule Genjutsu is so low-classed that it slipped through any ninjas senses. In a sense, it could be said that this Genjutsu resembles _Kyouka Suigetsu's_ hypnotical power (its a sword from Bleach, in case you're wondering). Hey, maybe I'll call the Genjutsu _Kyouka Suigetsu _in the future. Why not?

_Meiton: Nikushimi no Seigyo_ (Dark Style: Control of Hatred):- The idea of the jutsu itself is canon, but the name is originally by me. This jutsu has the ability to control the mass of hatred that the Bijuu are consisted of. Of course, since Bijuu are beings of mass hatred, anger and rage. However, the peculiar thing is that the jutsu itself is only useable by Kyuubi, however ironic because he supposed to be the one with the biggest amount of hatred. Kyuubi can use this jutsu to its fullest extent; where he can influence weak-willed beings with his hatred and, for a lack of a better word, turn to the dark side.  
>And in turn, because of being his clone, Raibi can also use the jutsu. But unfortunately, thanks to him being only a clone of Kyuubi, he can't use it very well.<p>

_Meiton: Ikari no Kengen _(Dark Style: Manifestation of Rage):- Again, the idea of this jutsu is from canon. This is a jutsu that comes in one package with _Meiton: Nikushimi no Seigyo_. Difference is, whereas _Nikushimi no Seigyo_ is a jutsu where the Bijuu using it can control its own hatred to the point where it can influence others, _Ikari no Kengen_ is the ability to manifest the Bijuu's negative emotions; rage, hatred, anger and all that. The manifestation of those negativity tended to come in the form of their Jinchuuriki's darkest side. In canon, the dark side of a Jinchuuriki which I used as an example is Naruto's dark side in the Waterfall of Truth arc.  
>Raibi's inability to use <em>Nikushimi no Seigyo<em> successfully effects his _Ikari no Kengen _ability, making him probably the most successful Bijuu in that departement. The result is Spiderman's dark side, which is the nameless Nega-Spiderman. Because of Raibi's reliance on his _Ikari no Kengen_ rather than _Nikushimi no Seigyo_, Nega-Spiderman acquired another negative emotion; insanity.

_Raiton: Shichi Matenrou_ (Lightning Style: Seven Skyscrapers):- Spiderman's jutsu. A lightning jutsu that summons out seven pillars of lightning from the ground. To use it, Spiderman needs a substantial amount of chakra—for example, the amount he has in his Lightning-tailed armor mode. To use it, the user needs to expel lightning element chakra out of his body in seven parts. Those seven parts will implant themselves in the ground, and will explode outwards in the shape of a pillar of light when the user wills it to. Also effective as a defensive jutsu when the chakra implanted are in a tight formation.

_Kuchiyose no Jutsu_ (Summoning Jutsu):- I really don't have to explain this. But to be safe, it's a jutsu that summons animals and the like through time-space ninjutsu. There's a limited time for the summons to fight, because they rely on the user's chakra after they are summoned. The same cannot be said for _Gyaku Kuchiyose_ (Reversed Summoning).

_Kirin_ (Unexpected Cut):- Now, I know that what Kishimoto-sensei actually meant is a mythology beast of Japanese culture, or something. The translation for Kirin I got from Google Translate after writing 'Kirinu' and let the words form into katakana. The translation is Unexpected Cut.  
>Sasuke's original jutsu, where, after making a thunder cloud with his <em>Goryuuka no Jutsu<em>, he controls a single but enormous lightning bolt with a low-powered Chidori in his hand. When pausing before the attack, the lightning bolt takes shape of an angry dragonoid beast.

_Raiton: Futago no Ikazuchiryú_ (Lightning Style: Twin Lightning Dragons):- Spiderman's jutsu, where he summons twin serpentine dragons from the sky. Actually, it won't matter whether a thunder cloud is present or not, because the dragon itself was formed from the high atmosphere where electrons are wildly dancing around. But because of the destructive power of this jutsu is great, so is the amount of chakra needed to use it. Spiderman barely survives chakra exhaustion, even with his Lightning-tailed armor mode active. The power in this jutsu is on stalemate with Sasuke's Kirin, even able to cancel it.

_Hanauta Sancho: Yahazu Giri_ (Three-Verse Humming: Arrow Notch Slash):-...Sorry! I couldn't help it, I ended up using One Piece as a reference. Though, seeing in Ultimate Ninja 5, Sasuke's first stage Ultimate Jutsu had the resemblence of Brook's _Yahazu Giri_. Only, Sasuke's had more slashes in it.  
>Sasuke's sword technique. He had gotten very talented with his Kusanagi that Orochimaru decided to teach him <em>Hanauta-ryú <em>(Humming Style), a supersonic style where the swordsman's sword movements exceeds the slashes he makes. (Yeah, I know I'm a downright copying monkey, but it works, doesn't it?)

**Spiderman: How come I get my ass kicked so easily? I'm way stronger than Sasuke!  
>Sasuke: Hmph...<br>Me: Now, now. Don't forget, Spiderman, you're still a newbie in the ninja world. I can't make you an instant-godlike character just like that, can I?  
>Spiderman: (grumbles and goes out to get some air)<br>Sakura: (barges in and knocked the door down) I told you QUIT WITH THE RHETORICAL QUESTIONS!**


	26. Chapter 25

**Well, here's chapter 25 for you guys and girls! Before you begin the journey into the center of the eart—fanfiction!—I need to explain a few tidbits first.**

**First of all, there are going to be a few changes in the story. I've explained in the previous AN that Spiderman's Rasengan, the Rasraichi, has a name which is very much a nonsense when I think about it. It tranlates into 'S from lychee' in Google Translate-_-  
>Second, I've made a mistake on Spiderman's Bijuu seal. I first posted the prologue chapter with Madam Web sealing Raibi inside him and locking him in with <strong>_**Fuuin Jutsu: Kyu Tatsu Mon no Fuuin**_** (Sealing Jutsu: Nine Dragon Gate Seal), which I created because it sounded epic. But as the story progressed, I realize that to continue with the story I have to change the seal. And so, when I repost my prologue, it will be **_**Fuuin Jutsu: Tenchi Mon no Fuuin**_** (Sealing Jutsu: Heaven-Earth Gate Seal) which pretty much refers to the yin-yang seal on Spiderman's stomach.  
>Third, Chapter 1 consisted of Spiderman fighting two ANBU (remember Cat and Hawk?). Sadly, I don't think I want to make Spiderman look all super-powered ninjotic hero all of a sudden by fighting ANBU when he first arrived, then gets beaten by Sasuke in this story arc. That's just...wrong. Furthermore, the usual gate guards were supposed to be Chuunin Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo. I'm going to rewrite it. And since I'm quite confident about my writing in action scene, expect epic fight :D<br>Fourth, I've made a mistake in Raibi's origin. Yes, I wrote that history didn't know how Raibi was cloned by. But I've done several thinking, and if I continue with that fact, the story would be mislead. I'm going to rewrite that part.  
>Fifth, I'm going to change this story's name. Another author and a reader of mine, The Spider Writer, had a story with the same name as mine. To prevent confusion, I'll change the name into...something. I haven't got the good name, currently.<br>Sixth, I messed up with Sasuke's and Sakura's birthday. Sorry, I guess I didn't really came prepared when I wrote the chapter about that. I'll rewrite it.**

**Oh, and also a little advice, the early part of this chapter goes very well with Naruto's Background Song: Naruto, Sad Song.**

_**Review Reply:**_

**BOBOBOBO (Is it already right now?): Hehey! Thanks a lot, that meant a lot for me. Yeah, I agree, Sasuke is too much of a (insert terrible words here) to actually have a copycat sword technique. Frankly, I think he already had too much power up given by Kishi-_-**

**Extra Note: ...I don't know why the hell I'm writing this note down, but I couldn't get it off my chest, so I need to take it out of my heart a bit. Sorry about this, if you want to skip this note and start the chapter already, feel free to do so by scrolling down. It's just that...I need to write this down.**

**Lately, I've been caught up in a Vocaloid syndrome. What is a Vocaloid syndrome, you might ask? It's a syndrome in which the victim suddenly has the urge, no, need to download every freaking song sung by Vocaloid voice synthesizers. In addition, to fanfic writers it urges them to make a fanfic about them; thus my plan to write a Naruto-Vocaloid crossover. Yes, I know, I'm just that crazy. But enough of that, what I meant to say was that I've been listening to a lot of songs sung by the Vocaloid synthesizer characters. **

**One of them, Hatsune Miku- Sakura no Ame, is a lovely song. At least, that's what I thought when I first listen to it. A while later, I searched for the lyrics for that song and...to say I was surprised was a gigantic understatement.**

**I had no freaking idea that it was a farewell song. It hit me in the heart pretty hard when I read the lyrics while listening to the music at the same time. All in all it made me think, 'Ironic. Somehow even the internet knows my condition.' Thing is, I'm nearing the end of my Junior High School year and...graduation day is approaching faster than I actually prefer to. Between me and my friends, I'm the one that's going to go to the farthest school. I don't exactly know why, but I almost felt myself tearing up when that fact, that feeling that I'm gonna be far away from my friends, coupled with the song itself...well, yeah. In short, I'm feeling a bit depressed. I know that I may be just bothering you guys and girls by writing this down, but please understand. The only other place I can open up like this, other than my family and friends, is in this site. In my own writing, I can feel like I'm the main character. Selfish, I know, but that's just how it is.**

**So, at the very least, let me say to those who bother to scroll down their screen slowly just to take their time reading this...thank you. And sorry for being emotional. You don't know how much it meant for me. Okay then, *clears throat* without further a do... **

**Disc; Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi and Spiderman is the property of Stan Lee, Brian Bendis, and much other writers out there that created him. I'm neither Kishimoto nor am I Stan or Brian.  
>Seeing that the Spiderman I'm using comes from the first three movies, that means no, I'm not Sam Raimi either.<strong>

**xoxoxo**

Chapter 25

Rainbow After the Storm

They were close. SO close to capturing Sasuke and bringing him back. To be frank, they were just a breath away.

They had been doing so well, with the help of Spiderman weakening Sasuke considerably. But then, just as they were rejoicing...in that one moment of weakness, they let that one chance slip by them. Sasuke attacked. Whereas his target was supposed to be Naruto, Spiderman stepped in between them and took the blow intended for the spiky-haired shinobi. A blow that had dragged the battered-hero to the edge of his life.

Sakura could only look on hopelessly. When did she let this happen? Why did she, a full-fledged kunoichi trained harshly by her master for 3 years, let herself bask in the warm feeling of relief when their enemy wasn't even down? Why did she, knowing that her chakra as well as all of her team members are as low as it could get, let her guard down while knowing full-well that their not safe here? _'Is this...how it supposed to end?'_ She thought, her heart clench with remorse. She should've been able to see through this! She was a medic ninja for Kami's sake; her team's lives were on her hands!

Naruto himself was in a state of shock. How couldn't he be? He just saw his teammate taken down right in front of his eyes, by taking a blow that was meant for him. He, too, cursed himself for not noticing the possible outcome earlier. _"Sasuke..."_ The name he uttered, he uttered it with pure disbelief.

"_You should've known better, Naruto."_ Sasuke said as he tilted his blade sideways, changing his previous reverse-grip into a normal one. _"When I said I will eradicate you, I meant all of you."_

The Konoha team captain, Yamato, gritted his teeth. He was supposed to be their leader, wasn't he? Why didn't he saw through all this? Now, better yet, he didn't even have another plan. Begrudgingly, he reached for his weapon pocket on his right knee for a kunai. _'Damn it...we can't defend ourselves, at this rate!'_

Sai looked hard on Sasuke's sword as he raised it once more, ready to cleave it through Naruto's body. He reached out for his blunt-tipped _wakizashi_, knowing damn well that Sasuke's Kusanagi could cut through him and the short sword at the same time in one slash. _'I'll have to aim for his hand.'_ Sai thought, planning his attack silently. He tensed when Sasuke began talking again, _"Now, since your last hope was put aside for the while...I'll kill you all."_

As Sasuke's sword descended, however, it halted halfway to its supposed trajectory. Surprised, Sasuke looked to his side, only to see that the hand stopping him was owned by one pale-skinned Sannin. _"Orochimaru..."_ Said person chuckled darkly, before hissing out his own words in a chilly tone. _"Sasuke-kun, I don't remember telling you to kill any of our guests here."_ Every word spoken which had an 's' in it was highlighted, such was how snake-like he is even when he speaks.

"_I don't remember you telling me otherwise. Now let go of my hand."_

Another sound joined in the fray, this one much calmer and guarded. _"Now, now, is that any way to speak to Orochimaru-sama? You need to learn some manners."_

Sasuke's black eyes bore into Kabuto's spectacled ones, his anger quietly sent to him by eye contact alone. _"You need to keep your mouth to yourself."_

"_Putting that aside, you know we don't want them dead as of now, don't you?"_ Kabuto smirked, righting his round glasses with his finger. _"You are fully aware of Akatsuki's movements, yourself. In a sense, we need them; moreso because they're practically Akatsuki magnet. You don't want your revenge get hindered by another Akatsuki member, do you?"_

Sasuke kept his unwavering stare at Kabuto, searching for anything that the spectacled man could be hiding from him. He saw nothing. _"You and your ridiculous reasoning, Kabuto."_ But that's partly why he was so annoying, because he was so unreadable. Kabuto's smirk grew larger, knowing his bait had taken a hit, _"If it is to raise your chance for vengeance, even by only 1%, you'll be willing to, right?"_

The stare contest between them continued for several seconds before Orochimaru broke in, _"We're leaving."_ He said while letting go of Sasuke's hand. The Snake Sannin then turned to the Konoha team, chuckling darkly as he saw Naruto's glare, _"Now, as a token of appreciation for letting you all live a bit longer, I'll be expecting you to take down at least one more member of Akatsuki. You'll do that, won't you, Naruto-kun?"_ The boy in reference narrowed his eyes on the older man as he continued, _"Especially since it would do yourself some good."_

Sasuke 'hmph'ed as he sheathed his sword. As he raised his head, he was met with the anguish stares of his former teammates. He met them with his own emotionless stare. Deciding he would tick off the blond Jinchuuriki a bit more, he looked at him straight in the eye and said, _"Those who can't even save their friends, can never be Hokage. Isn't that right, Naruto?"_ The boy in mention had his eyes widened a fraction, hearing Sasuke's jab at his own words from before.

"_Unless you can keep that masked nobody alive, then I assume you will never be one...dead-last."_

It was his last words as the three of them—Sasuke, Orochimaru and Kabuto—vanished from sight in near-transparent flames, leaving Naruto to stare at empty air. At the moment, however, Naruto wasn't sure whether he should scream or cry. He was too shell-shocked to do any of the two.

"_...ruto! Hey, Naruto!"_ Thankfully, he didn't need to decide because Sakura's call brought him out of his reverie. He snapped his head up to see that all of his teammates already gathered around Spiderman's fallen body. He shook his head; now was not the time to space out. His teammate—his friend—was in critical condition. He ran towards his gathered teammates, squeezing his way through to have a look.

The blond was greeted with the sight of the battered hero, scars marring his torso; scars that were still profusely bleeding out. Sakura's palms were glowing bright green, a sign that she was trying to heal Spiderman's injuries with her medical ninjutsu. There was a strain on her forehead; apparently she was pushing herself just to heal the web-slinger. And she was supposed to be having the most remaining chakra, too.

"_This is bad...he's losing a lot of blood."_

Well, that fact was visible to the naked eye. Spiderman was literally gushing out blood all over his body. He seemed to be semi-concious, by the looks of it. His chest was rising and falling, but he didn't seem to be concious about the situation.

"_Can you heal him, Sakura?"_ Yamato's stern voice broke in. He received a shook of the pinkette's head, _"Not completely. The scars aren't the only thing we should worry about. His arm muscles were strained, it seems that he exhausted most of his chakra, and there's also—"_ She was cut off by a set of labored breathing coming from her patient. She snapped her head to face Spiderman's masked face. She widened her eyes in realization.

"_Oh, no. The mask is preventing him to breath normally!"_ Sakura turned her head to Naruto, _"Naruto, I need you to pull off his mask for me."_

The request caught him by surprise. Naruto only blinked and gaped at Sakura in response, _"What?"_

"_I said, I need you to take off his mask. I'd do it myself, but the moment I release my medical ninjutsu on Spiderman his wounds would only get worse."_ Seeing Naruto not moving, not even by the smallest bit, prompted Sakura to urge him harder, _"Hurry! He's suffocating there!"_

The panic in her voice was evident. The way she cried out to him, the hoarse sound that escaped her mouth, was very real. Naruto reluctantly nodded and moved to the side of Spiderman's head. In his head, he was having a dilemma. _'Removing Spiderman's mask...easier said than done. There's no way Spiderman would've let me take off his mask!'_ He knew Spiderman had a secret identity that he prefer to be remained as a secret, and Naruto respected that. For Naruto to remove the mask concealing his real face, even though it was already torn apart and showing a quarter of his face...it would be disrespectful and an act of betrayal.

'_AAH! What the hell am I thinking? Here he is dying because of his mask, and I have second thoughts about taking it off!'_ Naruto's hands searched for a fold or the sort on Spiderman's neckline. As soon as he felt the fold, he tugged on it and pulled off the mask with one thought running through his mind, _'Sorry, Spiderman.'_

After he pulled off the mask, he was greeted with the sight of a rather fair-skinned brunette. But it was that precise sight that made Naruto freeze in his spot once more, because he realized one thing.

The face he was looking at was the same one that the brunette from Spiderman's cellphone had, minus the glasses. But otherwise, they're identical. _"C-Could it be?"_

Yamato heard Naruto's strangled voice. Curious, he asked to the blond, _"Naruto? What is it?"_

"_Spiderman showed me a picture, back when we camped out before reaching Tenchi Bridge. It's just...I never thought that one of the faces he showed me turned out to be his own, because he said that the guy with the face is his friend."_

"_For him to lie like that..."_ Sai muttered, voicing his curiosity. _"He must be intending to not show his real face to any of us anytime soon. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like we've just crossed a boundary he made."_

Startled, Naruto gasped as Sai's logic made complete sense. It was the same as his own train of thought before he removed the mask, that Spiderman never intended to reveal his real face to any of them. Now that they did, would he really be okay with that?

"_Sai, I don't know about you, but when it comes to a matter of life and death, I'd say screw the boundaries!"_ Sai flinched at the tone Sakura used to scold him. Naruto heard it, too. It was the tone that she used too much already; one that was a sign that she was in 'doctor mode'. _"Frankly, I don't care whether Spiderman wanted us too see his face or not. If he is dying just because he let his doubts of us kill him, I'll happily rip that mask off myself!"_

All of them were taken aback by Sakura's harsh comment. It was irrational, at best; they all know better than to divulge another person's secrets. Yet, in a way, they sympathize with the pink-haired medic. She was, after all, trained by the Godaime Hokage; a woman whose first priority was to save lives. And Sakura was proven to be very serious in her work as a medic-nin. The Fifth's will to keep as much people as possible alive might have really passed on to her.

Yamato chuckled, _"You certainly are Tsunade-sama's student."_

Sakura let her pride motivate her to heal Spiderman further. She was doing pretty well, the scars had began to close. And the once labored breathing calmed down into a set of deep breaths. She sighed, the clench in her chest replaced with a feeling of relief. Her hands was still on Spiderman's chest, though, as she also tried to heal his internal injuries.

"_Sakura-chan, you don't have to push yourself. You're exhausting your chakra..."_ Naruto said, concerned for the well-being of his female teammate. He noticed Sakura clenched her teeth to keep her focus intact, but still she smiled at him nonetheless, _"I'm fine. It'll be just a little bit more until he's completely healed—"_

Her words caught themselves in her throat. Her eyes widened in shock as a terrible feeling passed through her hands to her arms. _"What...?"_ Her right palm moved downwards, towards Spiderman's stomach, while still exercising the Mystical Palm technique to track Spiderman's insides. _'That feeling...what was that?'_ As her right palm ghosted above Spiderman's abdomen, she stopped momentarily. She trembled, gaining the concerned look from all of her teammates, moreso when suddenly she jerked her hand away as small streaks of lightning tried to zap her palm.

Naruto saw what happened, and he was just getting more and more confused, _"What was that?"_

Sakura grasped her right palm with her left, healing slight burn marks that she had got from before. Those lightning streaks...it couldn't be. _"I need to see his stomach."_ She pulled a kunai from her pouch and slowly cut the stomach part of Spiderman's costume. As she finished cutting the particular part in a circular manner, she was startled to see a glowing yin-yang shaped rune on Spiderman's six-packed stomach. Furthermore, it was glowing. _"This is...!"_

"_His Bijuu seal."_ Yamato suddenly said, the surprise present in his voice as well. _"It looks pretty new. But why is it glowing?"_

Suddenly, lightning bolts started to shoot out from Spiderman's seal to the sky. The four Konoha ninjas jumped back by instinct, their eyes locked on to the squirming line of lightning connecting Spiderman and the sky above them. Just then, Spiderman's body twitched. No, scratch that, it looked like he was in the middle of a heart-attack. A hoarse grunt resounded from Spiderman, before followed by a loud scream.

"_What in the world...? What's happening to him?"_ Naruto turned his head to Sakura, seeing her just as shell-shocked as he was.

Sakura had the same train of thought as Naruto. She didn't know what happen; she only felt the yin-yang seal crackled with lightning, scorching her hand a little bit, and saw that it glow a bright blue before shooting a kind of lightning rod to the sky. There's no explanation for that, however, and that just served to unnerve her more.

Fortunately, Yamato realized what was happening a lot sooner than his subordinates, and so he yelled out his hypothesis, _"Something's wrong with the seal! I think it might be opening a bit, that would explain the lightning line!"_

"_Can you do __**that**__ jutsu again, Yamato-taichou? I think that would be the only jutsu able to fix anything Bijuu-related!"_ Sakura asked, yelling out also as the lightning line's echoing thunder began to drown out her voice.

"_I'll try."_ Yamato gathered his chakra, preparing to use the jutsu. _'This would drain me of my chakra...but I have no choice!'_ He turned to his other subordinate, _"Sai! I'll need you to give me a little boost after this. The lightning is getting worse each second passed."_ He ordered.

Sai nodded and pulled out his painting kit. He quickly scribbled down a picture of a hawk before nodding to Yamato once more, silently signaling his captain that he was ready. Yamato formed several hand seal before yelling out, _"Hokage Shikijijun Jutsu: Kakuan Nyuttensu Ishu!"_ He ran forward. Sai put his right hand in a single hand seal while his left hand spread the scroll he just used, muttering, _"Ninpo: Chouju Giga!"_

A giant ink hawk flew to Yamato's side. Seeing the ride, Yamato jumped on top of it and proceeded to advance on Spiderman. The lightning line had grown into something like a pillar, and it was crackling wildly shooting off random-targeting lightning bolts. The ink hawk climbed, dived, rolled right and left to evade the opposing lightning bolt. It kept going like that until Yamato was practically above Spiderman, where he jumped off the hawk and pushed his right palm to Spiderman's abdomen, particularly his seal.

The lightning charred some of his skin, but Yamato paid no mind. As soon as he close the seal, the lightning will disappear. There was a slight mistake in his hypothesis, however, because as his palm made contact with Spiderman's stomach, he felt that this was something else entirely.

'_This...this isn't the Bijuu in him trying to break out. Spiderman's chakra is just too drained to force his Bijuu's chakra down! This is bad. At this rate his Bijuu's chakra might overwhelm him any minute!'_ He thought as he fought back the urge to jump away from the offending lightning bolt scorching his palm. _'Unless...I give him some chakra to retaliate against his Bijuu's chakra. I'll have to try it!'_

Yamato focused his chakra pathways to open wider, forcing the littlest bit of his chakra reserves out of his body and into Spiderman. At the second the chakra was successfully transfered, Spiderman's wild spasm as well as his scream ended and he slumped, seemingly unconcious.

Yamato's breath labored. He just gave Spiderman his last drop of chakra from his reserves, and he wasn't feeling so well. _"I...think I overdid it...heh."_ He knelt down beside Spiderman before slumping down as well.

"_Yamato-taichou!"_ Naruto dashed towards the fallen two, followed by his two other teammates. He looked down on both Spiderman and Yamato. The web-slinger was not spasming anymore, but he was still sweating bullets. Yamato, on the other hand, looked so ghostly pale. _"What...don't tell me he exhausted his chakra!"_

Sakura did a quick checkup on Yamato as well as Spiderman. After several moments, she stood up looking at Naruto, _"They're exhausted. We need to get them to Konoha as fast as we can! They need serious medical attention!"_

"_But...how the hell are we supposed to do that? Konoha is at least three days away from here; and that's if we don't stop to rest!"_

"_Well, do __**you**__ have any other plan? If you do, I'm welcoming it with open arms!"_

The dispute stopped just as Naruto opened his mouth to retort, only to find himself biting his lips to hold his words back. Why was he arguing with Sakura? And why did he feel angry all of the sudden? _'Damn it! What's wrong with me? I've hurt her once, so why am I trying to hurt her further? Shit!'_

Sakura saw the distressed look on Naruto's face, and all of the sudden she felt guilty for yelling at him. Why was she even yelling at him? It must be the panic; yeah, it should've been. All the stress of having two dying members with their lives in her hands was taking its toll on her, both mentally and physically. _"I'm sorry, Naruto. I...I didn't mean to yell."_

Naruto shook his head, casting his face sideways. If the hurt in his face was a solid material, it might as well be described as solid as a rock; just to describe how he really looked.  
>Sai, deciding that the argument wasn't taking them anywhere, decided to play the peacemaker, <em>"Umm...if you don't mind, I also have an idea, myself."<em>

That seemed to get their attention. Inwardly, Sai smiled proudly at himself for at least stopping the banter. He then said, _"Naruto-kun, if I'm not mistaken Jiraiya-sama taught you Kuchiyose no Jutsu, am I correct?"_

Naruto blinked at that. Not much people knew that he had signed the toad contract, and it only served to confuse him more because Sai never saw him summoning any toads. _"Yeah, he did. But how do you know that?"_

Sai smiled at the blond, _"I read several files concerning yourself before this mission. Seeing that Jiraiya-sama himself is a toad summoner, you should've been one yourself."_ The pale artist shook his head, taking on his serious face for one, _"But putting that aside, if you are able to, we need you to summon a toad big enough for us to ride on."_

Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment. _"The only big toad I know that I can summon is Gama-oyabun _(Boss Toad)_."_ His head was hung low when he continued, _"But I don't have enough chakra to summon him, at the moment. That, and I don't think he'll be very willing to help."_

Sai frowned, _"I see..."_

The depressive atmosphere however, was broken by Sakura as she said, _"But if you __**can**__ summon him, will you be able to persuade him to help us?"_

Naruto glanced confusingly at Sakura, unsure of how should he take her suggestion, _"Sakura-chan?"_

"_Leave the chakra for summoning to me and Sai, you work on persuading your summon to help us. Got it?"_

"_How am I supposed to do that?"_

"_Well, you're a smooth talker. Surely you'd be able to—"_

"_No, no! I mean, the chakra problem. How are you and Sai suppose to fix that?"_

Sakura turned to the Root member, regarding him seriously, _"Sai, do you know how to combine chakra?"_ Sai looked at her, surprised by her question. He opted to voice his surprise, _"I do. But I'm surprised that you even know about chakra combining."_

"_It's something Tsunade-sama taught some time ago."_ She said, shaking her head dismissively, _"But anyway, if you are able to, I need you to combine your chakra with mine. I'll then transfer it to Naruto."_

"_That sounds possible, especially with your excellent chakra control."_ He paused, taking a deep breath before exhaling it, _"Let's do it."_

"_W-wait!"_ Naruto suddenly exclaimed. He looked at Sakura for a moment, _"Sakura-chan, you don't have to do this. You too, Sai. I can summon out enough chakra from Kyuubi for this, he'll comply to me."_

"_Naruto, you can't use Kyuubi's chakra. Not right now. You've overexerted your own body by using it too much. If you use it again, it would only hurt you more."_ Sakura explained patiently. Truth to be told, Naruto's suggestion was pretty hard not to take, because...

"_But if you give me your chakra, you will get chakra exhaustion!"_

That. Yeah, if she and Sai were to give their chakra to Naruto to call a summon, they would run out of chakra. She chuckled, playfully jabbing Naruto's shoulder, _"Hey, you made it sound like chakra exhaustion is a disease."_ Honestly, though, there was no other way out if they were to get to Konoha quickly. Naruto's summon might be their only hope. _"Don't worry, Naruto. After a day of sleep, we'll regain our chakra back. It's always like that, isn't it?"_ She said, smiling at Naruto to try and calm him down. She knew the effect she had on him; the way she smiled would reassure him that everything would be okay. And it would be, of course.

"_Sakura-chan..."_

"_Alright."_ Sakura turned away from the blond, afraid that she wouldn't have anything to say back if he pulls out a good argument. _"Sai, you ready?"_  
>She received a nod of compliance from the artist. Nodding back, she formed a ram seal as did her partner, and gathered her last reserves of chakra. She bit her lip to prevent herself from losing concentration. Sai wasn't doing any better, either. Though he still had a fair amount of chakra in him, in the end he would need every last drop of it to actually be adequate for a summoning jutsu.<p>

'_Just...a bit...more!'_ Sakura thought as she forcefully gathered her chakra into her hands. Then, she felt the cool feeling of her own chakra all focused on her hands. Visually, her hands were shining with bright, pink, flowing energy that was her chakra. She glanced at Sai, noticing him already pulling out of his chakra as well. Currently, his hands were shrouded in black, ink-colored chakra. _'His chakra really resembles his jutsu.'_ Sakura silently thought.

"_You ready?"_

"_I am."_ Sai nodded, a smile adorning his face.

"_Alright, lend me your hand."_ Sai did as he was told to and placed her hand on top of Sakura's, practically placing his chakra into Sakura's own. As he did, he suddenly knelt to the ground, sweating profusely. _"You alright, Sai?"_ Sakura asked, concerned. Her hands were holding what seemed to be a mixture of pink and black light.

"_I'll be fine. Just continue...your work."_ Sai said between labored breath. All his life in the Root, he never experienced chakra exhaustion in any of his mission. This one, he thought, might be a prime example for him not to forget that deep down he was still a human being.

Reassured by Sai's words, Sakura stared hard at the chakra mixture in her hands and began to combine it. At first, the pink and black masses of chakra refused to mix, but after a few swirling she did, Sakura managed to make a mixture of both Sai's and her chakra. _"I...I did it..."_ She muttered. Suddenly, she giggled weakly, _"To think I would be able to do it...at first try."_

"_Sakura-chan..."_ Naruto had to keep himself from grabbing Sakura's hands and prevent her from giving him her chakra. He could see, so clearly it hurts. Her legs were trembling, and so were her hands. She looked like she would break anytime soon. It took all that he had not to contact Kyuubi to lend him his chakra.

Sakura looked up at him, smiling softly at the blond. _"Here...take it, Naruto..."_ Her hands moved towards his body, gently pushing the combined chakra inside him. _"You can do it...I know you can. Just...please hurry."_ She said, pushing all of the chakra into Naruto completely. She lost her balance and began to topple forward. Her face would've met the ground if Naruto didn't scoop her into his arms, preventing her from making a face-fault. He didn't know what to say. His long time crush had just sacrificed every bit of her chakra for him, depending on him to save them all and bring them back. Back to their village.

"_Arigato...Sakura-chan."_

At the moment, his body felt rejoiced. Throughout his body was a surge of power that made him felt like he could level even the Hokage's building. He placed Sakura gently on the ground before turning his back towards her. His face was set, and his eyes filled with determination. He bit his thumb and smeared his blood on his right palm. He then formed the hand seals, focusing on the amount of chakra he would use and which toad he wanted—no,needed—to summon, before slamming his right hand on the ground.

"_Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"_

If the gigantic plume of smoke that was roughly 20 stories high wasn't a shocker, than the beast inside it would certainly be. As the wind snuffed the smoke out, it revealed a gigantic red toad, which approximate height might not be so far from the previous smoke. The toad was wearing a rather human-like clothing—though with a HUGE size difference—which were a dark blue haori which had the kanji _'Gama' _(Toad) and a white cloth acting as a belt as well as to support the giant _tantó_ on its waist. Its left eyelid was split by a scar; though the eye itself was still useable.

The toad glared seethingly at the blond who summoned him. Being summoned between a drnking contest against another toad really struck a nerve.

"_**Brat, what the hell do you want now? I'm in the middle of a drinking contest before your untimely summoning brought me here!"**_ The toad, Gamabunta, bellowed.

Naruto, however, was having none of it. It was bad enough that he just barely avoided using all of his chakra to summon the big-ass toad, now he had to deal with said toad's temperamental behaviour. _"Gama-oyabun, I have no time for this. Sorry, but can you take me and my team back to Konoha? Two of my teammates need medical attention."_

"_**Not only that you act all high and mighty saying you don't have time, you intend to use me as a carriage and ride me back to your village? You got guts, kid, I give you that."**_

Naruto growled. While he was arguing with his own summon, his teammates was dying right before his eyes! _"Goddamnit, Bunta! I told you I don't have time for this shit! My teammates are __**dying**__! So either you give us a lift to Konoha, or I'll beat you down 'till you give us one!"_ And out came the angered words from his mouth. Instinctively, Naruto gasped as he realized what he just said.

Gamabunta's yellow toadish eyes narrowed at the small youngster and leveled a glare, _**"...That's some manners for someone who's supposed to be my subordinate for the past few years. You forget your place, gaki. I advice you do well to remember it."**_

Naruto lowered his head. He cursed himself; this was their only way out, and he was doing well in cutting that road off. _"I'm sorry, Oyabun. But...they're really dying here. And if we don't hurry, they'll really die. I don't want that!"_ At the boy's words, Gamabunta's eyes softened. The boy sure had some very convincing words, and the matter of life and death wasn't really something he could ignore. Truth was, he was only testing the blond's respect for him.

"_**Tch...if that's the case, then get them all on my head and grab on. I don't want Jiraiya to lecture me about my carelessness as a summon."**_The toad lowered his gigantic head to the ground for Naruto to climb on.

Naruto, seeing this, began to carry his teammates to Gamabunta's head. Upon getting on top of it, however, he was struck with a painful realization.  
>With no chakra as well as conciousness, his teammates would fall off of Gamabunta while he leaps his way to Konoha. <em>'Damn, of all things to happen...'<em> He thought. The only way to sustain them and keep them on board was for them to stick to Gamabunta's head. But they were unconcious; and even if they weren't, the chara exhaustion was still a problem.

'_There's only one way to do this.'_ Naruto though again as he formed his hand into his favorite crossed-finger seal. _"Kagebunshin no Jutsu!"_

He made clones of himself, exerting a generous amount of the chakra mixture that Sakura gave to him. Four clones for four fallen teammates, each holding them tight against themselves and used chara to stick to Gamabunta's head. The real Naruto did the same, and yelled to Gamabunta, _"We're good to go, Oyabun!"_

"_**Heh. Then hold on tight! This is going to be a bumpy ride!"**_

After he said that, Gamabunta made a big leap out of the hole where the previous battle took place. Naruto winced; the wind and gravity was pushing him down to the Boss Toad's head, threatening to turn him into Swiss cheese. Then, there was a drastic change in the kinetic force as Gamabunta's jump lost its momentum, prompting the toad to free-fall to the ground. Naruto had to hold his ground and steady the flow of chakra on his feet just to keep himself from falling. He hoped that his clones were doing better than him, because he would hate himself if one of his clones lost grip on his teammates.

'_It's been a while since Yamato-taichou gave his chakra to Spiderman. I hope there's still time!'_

"_I won't let you die...not any of you."_ He told himself.

The bumpy ride would continue one until who knows when, and he had to stomach it for the whole journey.

**xoxoxo**

_Back in Konoha..._

"_Are you really sure about this?"_

Tsunade had came back from the short break that her seal-breaking team was having. Jiraiya was the last one to come out of her office, and though he didn't directly show it, she knew that he had made a few discoveries. One of them being the assurance that the seal that Madam Web gave her was really a key. Or, in Jiraiya's statement, an additional seal which works together with another seal. Supposedly, the other seal would be Spiderman's Bijuu seal.

"_I am, and I'm pretty sure about the other one, as well."_

Second, was the fact that the yin-yang seal was actually a yang-yin seal; meaning, the drawing of the yin-yang caligraphy was reversed. Now, he had many experience with seal. The yang-yin seal, he deducted, was not an independent seal. In fact, the fact that the seal was reversed int the way it was drawed proved that it works in pairs. Piecing up that fact with Madam Web's instruction to use it on Spiderman, should he lost control of his Bijuu, led the two Sannin as well as the remaining members of the seal-breakers to assume that Spiderman had a yin-yang seal, known as well as the _Fuuin Jutsu: Tenchi Mon no Fuuin_(Sealing Jutsu: Heaven and Earth Gate Seal).

"_Tenchi Mon no Fuuin...that's her original seal, isn't it?"_ Jiraiya asked, raising a questioning eyebrow to Tsunade who nodded affirmatively.

"_You know about her seal?" _She asked back.

"_Well, I should. We were all on the same team, after all. However, I don't remember knowing it as a strong seal; at least when used to seal a Bijuu."_ Jiraiya said. _"Tenchi Mon no Fuuin is usually used to seal other things of great importance. It may lack strength in locking in a Bijuu, but the seal's special powers lies in its security. It's so secure that some village leaders back in the past used this seal to protect important artifacts. The only thing that can open it is the reversed pair of the seal; and even then, it still needs the identic chakra with the main seal._

"_The seal also includes a failsafe; in which if the seal ever breaks down forcefully, it will absorb chakra residues from the ground and air and form a protective barrier around the object which was sealed by this Tenchi Mon no Fuuin. As long as there's chakra residue in the area, it will only recharge again and again; thus breaking it with ninjutsu is next to impossible."_

"_Chakra residue?"_ Inoichi questioned.

"_Chakra residues are leftover chakra, created after the use of a ninjutsu. After the usage of a ninjutsu, there should be leftover energy that was left, because jutsu are chakra transformed. When jutsu is used, it changes into any kind of ninjutsu one would use. After that, it transforms into chakra residues."_ Jiraiya explained.

Inoichi looked in awe, never actually heard the theory of chakra residue throughout his life. That was one thing that the Academy never taught him.

Then, Hiashi stepped forward and stared hard at the scroll with the seal which was once again laid on the Hokage's desk. He cleared his throat, before saying, _"I'm actually familiar with this seal. Our past clan heads had inherited us the seal in special scrolls, entrusting us younger clansmen of the main family to protect the secrets of the Hyuuga techniques."_ His forehead bulged with veins as he activated his Byakugan, _"Although, none of us really knew who had created the seal itself. Now that I see it, I must say I feel honored that the creator of this seal entrusted us with one more of her creations."_

Tsunade looked at the seal. There was several moments that she left the seal-breakers to work alone, while she was having a nostalgic thought about a certain purple-haired ally that had left the Shinobi Continent all those years ago. As she was left thinking about the past, Jiraiya glanced at her every now and then to make sure she was following the discoveries that were made as he and the other seal-breakers kept working. She wasn't; and that prompted him to sigh. _'If it's true that Cynthia payed her a visit before, then that would explain why she would feel all nostalgic about this. Not that I blame her, of course. I myself am kinda missing that shock of purple-hair.'_ Jiraiya thought, visibly drooling as his thought drifted to his times when they were all younger. That, of course, meant a younger Madam Web. I leave the rest to your imagination, and Jiraiya's pervy mind.

"_The Angel-Hearted Gaia Prison."_

"_Huh?"_ Jiraiya thought that he heard Tsunade talking, and he immediately shut down his pervy train of thoughts of the younger Tsunade and Cynthia, afraid that the buxom Hokage might see his drool.

"_I remembered how she described to me once, about a seal that she dreamt of creating."_ Tsunade chuckled fondly at the memory, _"She was pretty excited with her idea, back then. A seal that draws power from the earth in order to protect something of the sky. She dreamt of creating a seal that would keep an important object and protect it independently, and wouldn't stop as long as someone still tries to steal the important object it's holding."_

She shook her head. At first, when she heard the idea from her purple-haired friend directly, she had laughed. Not at her, but because of what inspires her to make a seal such as that. _"It was really funny, because she made that seal based on bedtime stories for children. She said that the seal was the prince, and whatever stored inside the seal was the princess."_

Ibiki, who had stayed silent through the whole affair, raised his voice which was laced with amusement, _"A bedtime story? Was this person really that childish, Hokage-sama? Or was she just eccentric?"_

"_Uh...a little bit of both, actually."_ Tsunade said, sweat-dropping as she remembered the pink bow-tie shaped ribbon tied to the envelope Madam Web used to deliver the summoning seal to her hours ago.

"_That's a befitting name for the seal, indeed."_ Jiraiya piped in, _"Though that's the first time I heard that she named her seal as that."_

Tsunade smiled. Yes, the seal was made secret between her and Cynthia those days in the past. She kept it a secret because she hadn't been able to make such a complicated seal, even with her talent as a seal master. It took her years to work on that particular seal. At that time, Tsunade was quite amazed by her friend's tenacity in working on the _Tenchi_ seal. She had questions about her strange, but close friend. She remembered having a conversation when they were younger, some time before the third Ninja War.

**xoxoFlasback Time Machinexoxo**

A younger Tsunade and Cynthia was in the training field, getting a rest near a tree after a spar that Cynthia had requested. Seriously, she was the only person in the whole Village of Konoha who was insane enough to taunt the blonde Queen of Slugs into a spar; which happened to be more of a fist-fight, actually. And everyone knew that hell breaks lose whenever Tsunade used her fists—her super-powered, exploding-chakra fists—in any kind of fight.

Cynthia looked at her blonde companion, one of her eyes closed in exhaustion and she was panting for air, _"Mou, Nade-chan. Your strength is still hellish as ever!"_

Tsunade glared at the purple-haired girl, also in desperate need of air after their sparring session, _"I told you, I hate that nickname."_

Cynthia snickered at the pig-tailed blonde's reaction. _"Aww, is someone in a foul mood? You know you like that nickname I gave you, so why complain?"_

The Shodaime Hokage's granddaughter scoffed and looked away from the grinning purplehead. She really despised the fact that Cynthia could always remain a child no matter what, even though they're practically adults, which irritated her all the time. Heck, even her clothing seemed childish.  
>Cynthia wore her favorite set of garments; a bright yellow t-shirt topped with a sleeveless red hoodie, left unzipped at the front. The hoodie was usually replaced by a Jounin vest in missions, but she preferred to keep it casual outside missions. She also wore a pair of cream-colored pants, which was tied with a white belt. Her purple hair reached to cover the nape of her neck. The way she wore her <em>hitai-ate<em>, however, only brought more of her childish side. She spread the cloth upwards so that it covered the top of her head, while she made a knot at the back of her head (imagine Izumo's _hitai-ate_).

Tsunade only gave her a critical look. They were Jounin for Kami's sake! Is she the only one of the two mature enough to wear standard Jounin clothing?

"_Actually, no. I can be formal, too. But it's boring to always wear the green vest."_ Cynthia said suddenly. Tsunade blinked in response, realizing that she had just voice her thoughts.

She face-palmed her forehead, _"Why can't you ever grow up, Cynthia? We're 30 for crying out loud!"_

"_Technically, we're 26 until next month, but if you want to grow wrinkles so bad then be my guest!"_

They butted heads childishly. Yes, the would-be Madam Web's childishness was infectious. In fact, that was the only reason Tsunade put her guard down when Cynthia, as a stranger, first came to the village. Not only that, but she was directly put under the care of their Genin team's sensei as well as Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. Hiruzen was the first one to accept Cynthia with welcome hands, saying that she was as welcome as the other people in his village.

Jiraiya came next, obviously, but she suspected that was only because Cynthia had a pretty face. Jiraiya practically welcomes anyone warmly, as long as they were good-looking girls. Or, at least, that was from her perspective.

Orochimaru was the hardest to convince, being the cold snake he is. He frequently brushed off Cynthia's attempts to befriend the pale ninja. Eventually, though, Orochimaru gave up pushing her away, saying that she was just too much of a child to take his insults seriously.

The four became close friends, albeit not that close with Orochimaru. Years passed and then, there they were, a team of full-fledged Jounins ready to take the war, hesitantly nevertheless. They were never fond of the idea of war; especially Cynthia, whose dream was to end wars. In her theory, and to be quoted, _"Wars are horrible. They take so many from a person. Houses, treasures, friends and families...and more. That's why, my dream is to end war! I want to see a world filled with peace!"_

But, nevertheless, war happened. They were lucky at that one time that it was only a civil war in the Fire Country, but Cynthia's words were true. Many people lost something—if not everything—to the war. Some treasures, while others...something more important.

That was what inspired Cynthia to create a tool to protect those people. A tool that would use anything to protect whatever it was used to. A seal to create a barrier powerful enough to withstand any kind of man-slaughtering ninjutsu. _Tenchi Mon no Fuuin_, the seal of heaven and earth. She'd work day and night to do it; in mission days, it was mostly night. Tsunade was somewhat perplexed by Cynthia's stubborness to actually exert herself by working non-stop like that, and she was further intrigued by the fact that her cheery attitude never got gloomy, even though she had many sleepless nights.

On several occasions, the purple-haired girl woman would brag to her blonde friend about the seal; going as far as naming it with such an overrated name, 'Angel-Hearted Gaia Prison.'

"_I really don't understand you, Cynthia."_

"_Huh?"_

The sudden comment drew out confusion from the purple-haired seal master. It's not unusual for her to hear Tsunade's insults such as that. No, the confusing thing was that she was looking at her with a faraway look, as if Tsunade wasn't looking at her at all. However, the confusion was gone when Tsunade smiled at her.

Tsunade then said, _"I mean...when I think about it, you're not from around here, are you? You told me about that you were from the outer lands when you first enter my team. Now tell me, why do you care so much about a land like the Shinobi Continent so bad that you would make a barrier seal for us?"_

Cynthia stared at Tsunade blankly, before scratching the back of her head while chuckling, _"So it's still about the seal, huh?"_

"_Of course! It always is! Why would you promise to that family from the Hi no Kuni Civil War to create a seal for them, even though you're from the outside?"_ Tsunade asked vehemently.

This, however, only made Cynthia's chuckle grew into a full-blown laughter, _"Hahahah! Wow, Nade-chan, I never thought you'd be so stupid!"_

"_S-Stupid?"_ Tsunade screeched, a nerve grew on her forehead.

"_You don't get it, do you?"_ Cynthia smiled, _"It's the least I can do to thank you all for accepting me here, __**especially**__ since I'm from outside this Continent. Besides,"_ Cynthia poked the metal plate on her forehead, _"The moment I wear this headband on my head, I am and always be a Konoha ninja!"_

That silenced Tsunade, as she looked at the purple-headed seal master in awe. She never thought about it like that, nor did she ever bothered to. To her, Cynthia was a friend, but since she was an outsider Tsunade knew that there would be a day that Cynthia would abandon them.

She never thought that the childish Oneiru would care so much.

"_Oh, yeah! That reminds me, Nade-chan!"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_As a token of our friendship, I want to give you the Tenchi seal when it's finished."_

Tsunade blinked. Cynthia could always surprise her like that. It's a talent of hers that the pig-tailed blonde despised so much. _"What? Why?"_

Cynthia grinned at her, _"I want you to put away your grandfather's necklace and store it in the seal."_

If Tsunade had blinked in surprise before, now she was gaping in shock. _'She is so full of surprises.'_ She thought. Before she had the time to give a response, Cynthia cut her off, _"I won't take a no as an answer. Nade-chan, I know that necklace holds painful memories. And...I heard what happened to your brother and Dan-kun from Jiraiya-hentai."_ She looked up at Tsunade's shell-shocked face, _"Please don't blame him. I was the one who asked him first. Now, I know why you won't let me borrow it, or anybody else for that matter. That's why...please, let me seal it away."_

Perhaps it was the sincere request, the pleading tone, the sad smile that crept up her lips, that caught Tsunade off guard. Or perhaps it was the suddenness of the request that caught her by surprise. Either way, there was only one thing that went through Tsunade's mind, _'How could she be so humble to do a __**favour**__?'_

Well, it's not as if Tsunade needed to know, anyway. Hearing the heartfelt request from her eccentric friend somehow lifted her spirits. And, for once since a long time, she let a smile to form on her lush lips.

"_Thank you...Shinti-chan."_

She didn't realize that it was also at that time that she, for once since a long time, let some happy tears wet her cheeks.

**xoxoFlashback, Power Downxoxo**

In the end, she never got to give the necklace to Cynthia. But, she was glad she didn't, because if she did she would never be able to pass down the necklace to the blond kid who saved her life.

"_Well, we won't get anything just by reminiscing. If the seal is intended as a key, then I suggest we wait and see what it'll do when Spiderman gets back."_ Tsunade said, sighing tiredly.

"_But didn't you say that Cynthia told you to use this seal in case of Bijuu chakra leakout?"_ Jiraiya asked. _"Who knows what it'll do if we place it on Spiderman when he's just fine and kicking."_

"_If it comes to that, then we don't use the seal. Simple as that."_

Jiraiya thought for a moment, before shrugging. Tsunade's words were logical; no need to use something that they didn't need.

Just then, however, a spiky-haired Chuunin came in bursting through the office door. He brandished a bandage that went crossing his face horizontally on top of his nose. _"Hokage-sama, you're needed in the hospital ASAP!"_ He let out, his breath came in labored set of pants.

"_Kotetsu? What's with all the hassle?"_ Tsunade asked with a concerned look. For a Chuunin to come in her office without knocking while literally breaking it off its hinges, that meant serious business.

The bandaged-faced Chuunin panted a while, before saying, after regaining his needed oxygen, _"Team Kakashi...they're in critical condition. All of them!"_

"_What?"_

**xoxoxo**

_Several minutes earlier..._

Hagane Kotetsu and his partner, Kamizuki Izumo, were on their usual guard duty. Having taken the permanent job as the literal sentinel of the gigantic Konoha Gate when they were younger and more naive, they were now cursed to do the boring job in their adulthood.

Fortunately, they've adapted to the boredom. Kotetsu opted take Shikamaru's advice to stare at clouds and go daydreaming. To quote what Shikamaru had said, _"It's useful to raise the power of imagination."_ And seeing what a fine strategist the Nara clan member had become because of that, Kotetsu became interested to try. His partner Izumo, however, opted to do the simplest thing in the case of boredom; sleeping his ass out.

Kind of make us wonder how could a lowly-security village like Konoha be one of the Five Great Village.

"_Oi, Izumo! You sleeping again?"_ Kotetsu called. He received no response, except for the snores. _"Figures. With no cards to play thanks to Godaime-sama finding us out, he takes naps like a sloth."_

He continued his staring at the cloud, realizing he won't be having any conversation with his partner anytime soon. Thankfully for him, the sun had just began to set, and the sight of the clouds above him was marvelous, though to him it was quite boring. _"Haah...I don't really see how Shikamaru can stand just watching cloud pass." _He squinted at the white puffs, _"Power of imagination...let's see, that cloud right there looks like a candy puff. That one over there looks like a crocodile. Wow, I'm really getting good at this..."_ Kotetsu said with wonder, _"That one...damn, that just looks like a plain cloud. That one looks like...Godaime-sama? Pfft!"_

He contained the laughter that threatened to escape his mouth, fearing the Fifth Hokage herself could hear him. _"Okay, okay, moving on. Say, what's that black cloud doing there?"_ He said, squinting his eyes on one particular dark cloud. He put his palm horizontally on his forehead to shield his eyes from the sun's light, thinking that the light was playing tricks on him, _"That's funny. It kind of looks like a...frog? Pretty big, too. And is it me? Or is the black cloud is really growing?"_

To answer his question, no it wasn't him. And yes, the "cloud" really is growing.

In fact, it grew so big that it frightened Kotetsu and prompted him to wake Izumo up, _"Izumo! Oi, Izumo! Wake up you lazy bastard!"_

"_Guh...? What the hell is the matter, Kwotetswu?"_ Was all Izumo could say before he doze off yet again.

"_Damn it, wake up!"_

Too late. While Kotetsu was struggling to wake his sleepyhead of a partner, the supposed 'cloud' had already...landed in front of the gate? This received a startled, girl-like scream from Kotetsu and Izumo as both of them was shocked that the 'cloud' had seemingly landed on the ground and caused nothing short of a tremor that jerked Izumo awake. _"I'm awake! I'm awake! Now where's the enemy?"_

Kotetsu resisted the urge to plow Izumo's head in and took a good look at the thing that caused the tremor.

It seemed that he was right; the cloud **did** look like a frog. It was one from the very beginning. He was now staring at one of the Boss summon of Jiraiya the Toad Sannin, Gamabunta.

"_Wha—Gamabunta? What's Jiraiya-sama's summon doing here!"_ He let out. Shortly after, the gigantic toad's yellow eyes focused on him. _**"We're here, brat."**_

It was then that a shock of yellow hair stepped down from Gamabunta's gigantic head, bringing with him several clones carrying one person on each of them. The real one of the doppelganger team looked exhausted, and sweating bullets down his face. _"Na-Naruto?"_ Izumo let out, as he then ran forward seeing that the blond wasn't really steady on his feet.

"_Thanks for the lift...Oyabun."_

Gamabunta snorted, _**"That'll be a barrel of liquor from each one of you."**_ And with that, he went up in a puff of smoke, teleporting back to his realm. The chakra that had fueled him, the chakra that was expelled from Naruto's body, had ran out.

The blond himself wasn't doing any better. His eyes were droopy, and he looked almost pale. Kotetsu and Izumo both caught him as he almost fell to his knees, _"Naruto! Oi, Naruto, hang on!"_

Breathless and drained of chakra, the only words Naruto were able to mutter was, _"Hah...the...the others...chakra exhaustion..."_

"_Damn it, we're losing him! Izumo get the medical team here and get them ready to take these guys to the ER!"_ Kotetsu barked his order to his partner. Although he was not on the rank to be ordering another Chuunin, Izumo complied and used _Shunshin _to dash his way to the hospital.

Kotetsu cursed. With the hospital being five-minutes dash from the gate, the situation they were in was not looking good. He was then suddenly jerked down as Naruto's hand grabbed hold of his vest and looked at the bandaged Chuunin, his sapphire-like eyes seemed pleading.

"_Spiderman...seal..."_ Was his last words before exhaustion took over, and he blacked out.

"_Seal?"_ Kotetsu inquired confusingly, but to no avail as Naruto had faded into unconciousness. _"Damn, what seal?"_

His eyes travelled to Naruto's clones, who had burst into puffs of smoke as the caster was unconcious, and their cargo was dropped—surprisingly gently—to the ground. One person had his attention, however, because he was wearing the same hideous outfit as the guy that had kicked his ass some time ago.

Wait a minute. _"That __**is**__ the guy that kicked my ass back then!"_ After putting Naruto down gently to the ground, he closed in on the battered figure of Spiderman, _"He looks like he been through hell. Just what happened to them?"_ Kotetsu's eyes squinted there and then, realizing another thing, _"And it looks like he's missing his mask. Well, at least now I'm sure that he's no spy."_

He observed the wounds that Spiderman had. Although there were several deep scars which were signs of deep cuts, it all paled in comparison to the throbbing scar on his six-packed stomach, visible through a round opening on his costume. On second thought, it looked more like a rune than a scar. Or, to put it simply, a seal.

"_Is that the seal that Naruto was talking about?"_ Kotetsu wondered. He cursed at the unstability the seal looked to him, _"Damn it, where's Izumo with that medical team?"_

As if on cue, he saw a sprinting figure followed by several white-robed people behind him. Kotetsu sighed in relief; at least Izumo wasn't slacking in his job, he thought.

"_Kotetsu!"_

Said man nodded at his partner's call, _"We need to put them under immediate medical attention. Four of them are experiencing severe chakra exhaustion, and the costumed one over there also has the same symptoms, but with the addition with an unstable seal on him. And judging by the way it's placed..."_

The medical team looked exasperated as well as nervous, waiting for Kotetsu to reveal what he had discovered. One of them had their patience ran down and decided to ask, _"What is it?"_

Kotetsu looked up to the medic team, a grim expression on his face, _"We have another Jinchuuriki in our hands."_

**xoxoxo**

_In the hospital, current time..._

Medics were rushing in and out of the emergency room, each of them with their own tasks in hand. Inside the emergency room were even more doctors and nurses working one five patients, each of them sedated and had tubes stabbed into their wrists, and an oxygen mask covering their mouth to help them breathe.

The medics were going through a hard time working on their patients. While two of patients (Sakura and Sai) only have mild concussion and superficial wounds that went together with their chakra exhaustion, the other two (Naruto and Yamato) was almost literally empty of chakra reserves. And when I said empty, yeah, I meant that both Naruto and Yamato were running on their last drop of chakra.

The worst, however, would be Spiderman's case. Although Sakura did a great job to heal Spiderman's vital wounds, the deep scars had reopened in the middle of his spasms, resulting in him bleeding profusely. In Spiderman's case, the medics had to work hard on two tasks: They need to make sure that Spiderman was heavily sedated to prevent him from spasming again which would reopen his wounds, and they need to close said bleeding wounds. However, whilst they were working hard on these tasks, they neglected one simple matter.

Because they had already gave treatment for chakra exhaustion for the other four patients; which was to infuse them with chakra stimulator serum to give them temporary chakra reserves, they didn't have time to give the same treatment to Spiderman. They thought that his wounds were the one needing their full attention as of the moment. They didn't know that the wounds itself were superficial.

Well, compared to Spiderman's unstable seal, they **were** superficial.

With Spiderman running low on chakra to supress the seal's power, the seal was already in the brink of exploding. With the many medics using medical Ninjutsu inside the room, they have accidentally gathered a huge amount of chakra residue. As it was, Spiderman was mentally struggling to keep his seal in check. If he were to exhaust his chakra completely, the seal would once again rise in a pillar of lightning. Considering the fact that they were inside a building, a hospital at that, the effect would just as effective as a bomb detonating in a heavily populated hotel.

The medics were oblivious of the fact, of course. They didn't know what kind of seal that Spiderman had. And the only people that did were still outside of the hospital, trying their best to get into the emergency room as fast as possible. Considering Tsunade's position, that wouldn't be a problem.

"_A Jinchuuriki seal? Are you sure? And are you certain that you saw it throbbing?"_ Tsunade asked to Kotetsu, just after the Chuunin revealed his discovery. The Chuunin nodded his head, albeit hesitantly. Not one person could NOT fear the Fifth Hokage, after all. _"Yes, Godaime-sama. From the positioning, I'm sure it's a Jinchuuriki seal. And my eyes weren't deceiving me when I saw it throbbing."_

"_Why didn't you notify me about this sooner?"_ An angry Tsunade growled, eliciting a small squeak of fear from her inferior.

"_T-They just got here some minutes ago, Godaime-sama!"_ Kotetsu said.

"_Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it ALL!"_ Tsunade cursed repeatedly, _"Jiraiya! You bring the scroll with you?"_

"_Yeah, I got it here."_

"_Good. We're going to need it sooner than I thought."_ Tsunade pushed through a double-door, nearly throwing it off of its hinges. Her walk could relate to a half-stomp, half-jog one as she was rushing to the emergency room. It would take some more minutes to get there at this pace, and the blonde Sannin didn't like it one bit.

Hiashi, who was following right behind her, couldn't help but shiver at the killer intent flowing out of his Hokage. The others were probably unaware of it, but Tsunade is one of the people that he feared, both in position and in stature. Shaking his head, he focused to the task at hand...but he abruptly froze when he felt a chilling aura in the air. When he stopped moving, Inoichi bumped into the back of his head nose-first.

Rubbing his nose, Inoichi glared, _"Hey, Hiashi! Don't just stop so suddenly like that!"_

Hiashi didn't give any response, which infuriated the Yamanaka Clan Head even more. Hiashi's stop in his stride eventually caugh Tsunade and Jiraiya's attention. Jiraiya then asked, concerned by the cautious look on Hiashi's face, _"What's wrong?"_

The Hyuuga Clan Head's answer to Jiraiya's question was to activate his clan's bloodline jutsu, _"Byakugan!"_ And then he looked at a wall. To a normal person, it would seem that he was glaring at the wall, but in actuality, he was looking far beyond it.

His white eyes widened when he caught a flare of chakra, _"Hokage-sama, I think the seal is becoming unstable! And it's..."_

"_It's what?"_ Tsunade exclaimed, _"For Kami's sake, speak clearly, Hiashi!"_

Hiashi gulped, swallowing a throatful of saliva, _"It's getting ready to explode."_

All of the people in the group tensed. Tsunade's face contorted into anger once more; this time really looking like she would punch someone's brains out, _"Damn it! That's faster than I thought. Lead the way, Hiashi! And give me the shortest path!"_

"_It's just beyond that wall, Hokage-sama. But, the door is on the other side and we'll have to go back and take another route!"_ Hiashi reported.

"_I'll make my own shortcut."_ Tsunade stated, an evil grin suddenly threatening to split her face in half, _"It's just a wall away, isn't it?"_

The five men in the group with her looked confused for a second, before they heard Tsunade cracked her knuckles. At that time, they realized that they need to clear the building quickly, or else they'd be in the explosion radius. They only hoped that the hospital got insurance.

Tsunade dashed towards the offending wall blocking her way to the emergency room with her right arm cocked back. And, needless to say, she really made her own shortcut. Preferably, one that was flashy and blew the wall in.

The medics inside were too shocked to move, too scared to say anything, and value their lives too much to actually yell in protest. How couldn't they? Their Fifth Hokage just punched a wall in, crushing the wall down and shook the very building itself. That, and Tsunade had a dark look in her eyes, as if declaring that she was terribly pissed.

She jerked her head towards the bed Spiderman was laid on. To her immense relief, the only reaction the seal was giving out was the crackling lightning coursing around the seal like a barrier, the seal itself was glowing red. She still got enough time, _"Jiraiya!"_

"_I got it!"_ The toad hermit dashed past her and jumped over the other four patients, noticing that his godson was also incapacitated. Shaking his head, he landed just beside Spiderman's bed, scaring the medics away, and furled open the scroll in his hands. He proceeded to literally slam the yang-yin seal to its yin-yang counterpart on Spiderman's abdomen, chanting, _"The Angel is safe. Gaia, go to rest! Tenchi Mon no Fuuin, synchronize!"_

Almost as an immediate effect, the crackling lightning receeded and the seal stopped glowing. As if the seal had eyes, it stopped any activity whatsoever, prompting Tsunade to come closer to look, _"So...that's it?"_

"_Wait for it..."_ Jiraiya warned. He let go of the scroll and left it on Spiderman's body.

As if on cue, the scroll levitated in the air and hovered one feet above its counterpart. Both the seal on Spiderman's abdomen and the one on the scroll spun counter-clockwise in their place. Jiraiya looked on in awe as the speed the seals were spinning at was increasing sharply, to the point where a mini-tornado formed in the gap between the scroll and Spiderman's seal. The mini-tornado shook the room, breaking a glass cupboard and seemingly extracting electricity from the lamps. It was a miracle that the other four patients of the same team were still sleeping soundly.

Eventually, the raging winds died down. The shaken doctors who were previously clutching the ground for dear life in fear of the tornado stood up, a dumbfounded look on their face. The three men from the seal-breaking team—Hiashi, Inoichi and Ibiki—came in shortly, their curiosity getting the better of themselves. The scene was quite comical, at the very least; the doctors had their clothing rustled and ripped in several places, the nurses were in some...suggestive position because of their preemptive fall, Tsunade picking herself up before punching Jiraiya upside the head for trying his luck to grope her. Said three men would've chuckled at the amusing sight if the tension in the air wasn't just as high.

When Tsunade raised her head high enough to actually take a good look at the result of the previous tornado, she was more than genuinely surprised. She thought that the seal in the scroll should've repaired the unbalanced seal and turn it back as it were. She was wrong.

In place of the yin-yang rune of the Heaven-Earth Gate Seal, was another seal replacing the previous seal. What had Tsunade intrigued was that the seal didn't look anything like the previous seal. The seal had literally transformed; from the previous yin-yang seal into a seal which consisted of four lines put diagonally, each of them paired with another line facing each other across what Tsunade deduced as a circle. What made her curious, though, was the fact that the circle in the middle had an Uzumaki swirl on it. Also, on the circle's south, north, west and east part were a pair of right triangle, angled so that the diagonal line of the triangle was facing the other triangle's one.

In the eyes of an amateur, and if Tsunade didn't know better, the seal looked similar to the Konoha's symbol on one glance. At the same time, however, it was different. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, _"What in the world is that suppose to be?"_

Jiraiya eventually raised to his feet as well, but his reaction when he saw the strange seal was one of surprise, rather than confusion. The outcome wasn't as he predicted, where just like Tsunade he expected the seal to revert back to its yin-yang form. _'What seal is that? I never seen anything in this type of complexity before, nor have I heard of it. Is this suppose to be Spiderman's real seal?'_ Question ran rampant in Jiraiya's mind. He was unable to comprehend what just happened; one second he put the inverse version of the Heaven-Earth Gate Seal, the next second it transformed into a tornado, and the next one the seal changed completely. What confused him was that this wasn't mere transformation, as the basis of the new seal was completely different from that of the Heaven-Earth Gate Seal, or so his experience told him.

Unless...of course!

"_I get it now! So that's what she did!"_ He suddenly exclaimed, eliciting a shocked gasp from Tsunade.

"_Damn it, Jiraiya, you almost gave me a heart-attack! What do you mean you get it?"_ She asked, glaring at the white-haired Sannin for shocking her.

"_I mean I now understood what Cynthia did when she used the Tenchi Mon no Fuuin! You see, previously I thought that my experience in sealing has been getting dull since it has been a long time since I last practised it. I thought that I may have made a mistake thinking the seal she used was just good for storing objects."_

Tsunade quirked an eyebrow at that, _"Well, isn't it? Hiashi said it himself that the seal's capacity wasn't big enough to seal a Bijuu."_

"_It is, but I figured that the Tenchi Mon no Fuuin wasn't used to seal a Bijuu in the first place." _Jiraiya rubbed his chin, _"The purpose of the Tenchi Mon no Fuuin is, as both of us know, to store and protect artifacts and other objects. A Bijuu, being the mass of chakra they are, won't fit in the seal. The only thing that can supress a Bijuu's chakra is a Bijuu seal, like this one."_ He pointed at the new seal on Spiderman's abdomen. _"The rest, well you can connect the dots."_

It took Tsunade several seconds before her eyes widened, a conclusion in her mind, _"That means..."_

Jiraiya nodded, _"Rather than using the Tenchi Mon no Fuuin on Spiderman to seal a Bijuu in him, Cynthia used that Tenchi Mon no Fuuin to store another seal in it. In this case, the 'other' seal would be this new seal."_ He held his breath. His eyes were filled with awe at the revelation he had just made, _"She used a double-layered sealing method. She placed one seal on Spiderman to seal a Bijuu inside him, and then she covered the Bijuu seal with her original creation, the Tenchi Mon no Fuuin. In order to protect the Bijuu seal from outside disturbance, she placed it in a seal with probably the most secure barrier."_ The toad hermit couldn't help but to crack a grin, releasing a shaky breath that he held out of excitement. _"It's almost as effective as the Yondaime's method of sealing. It's...amazing." _

Throughout the explanation, Tsunade was rendered speechless; not just by the revelation, but also by thinking about her purple-haired ally's ability. Who would've guessed that her powers as a seal master had already shot through the roof? Jiraiya even said that Cynthia rivalled the Fourth Hokage in sealing prowess, and the Fourth was a genius of a thousand years.

'_Cynthia...I never knew you hid such a talent in you.'_ She thought fondly.

She shook her head. Reminiscing always brought tears to her, and now was not the time to shed unnecessary tears. Her patients—the team she had dispatched, to be precise—were in critical condition, and she as a medic needed to tend to them. _"What's the status of the patients?"_ Tsunade turned to one of the doctors. The doctor, noticing who he was speaking to, straightened up and spoke in a rather stammering manner.

"_U-uh, patients Haruno Sakura-san and Sai-san of ANBU were experiencing chakra exhaustion when they got here. We've taken care of that with some chakra stimulators. There's also several mild concussions and bruises, but we've covered that up as well."_

Tsunade nodded, _"You've done a good job, thank you for that. What about Uzumaki Naruto and Yamato of ANBU?"_

The doctor continued,_ "They both experienced a more severe phase of chakra exhaustion. We had to sedate them both to prevent their body from overusing their chakra unconciously. Yamato-san's case was easy enough, as the only thing he had other than chakra exhaustion was a piercing wound on his shoulder, which was thankfully superficial despite how bad it sounds like. Naruto-san...well, he experienced severe chakra exhaustion, and also a strain in his chakra pathways. The symptoms were the same as patients with forced chakra injection. We assumed that Naruto-san had received chakra from his teammates, thus their chakra exhaustion and the strain in his chakra pathways."_

'_Must be the chakra combining technique I taught to Sakura...that's dangerous, but thanks to her quick thinking she saved the whole team.'_ Tsunade thought. She nodded once again, obliging the doctor to continue.

"_And our other patient...Spiderman, I assume? His was the worst case. When he got here, there were scars on his body. We tried to work on his chakra exhaustion, first, but then he spasmed and his scars reopened. Because of that we had to delay the chakra exhaustion treatment and work on the wounds. We realized that the seal on his stomach was glowing, but we paid it no mind because we were focusing on closing his wounds. It was by the time that the seal started to crackle with electricity that you came in, Hokage-sama."_

Closing her eyes, the Fifth Hokage sighed. It was all a matter of luck that she came in time. _"Thank you for your hard work, doctor. I see that my assistance isn't needed here."_

"_N-nonsense, Hokage-sama! We are only doing the best we can, and that's not much compared to what you can do."_ The doctor exclaimed.

"_But you've already taken care of the patients. That is enough, as all we had to focus are on our patients, am I wrong?"_

"_N-no, milady."_

Tsunade smiled at the male doctor. He seemed like he was a newbie in the hospital, thus his nervousness. It was a wonder that even a newbie like him could mantain a dire situation like that. Konoha was so full of talented new leaves, indeed.

Jiraiya stepped up to her, armed with a frown on his mouth, _"Hey, Tsunade..."_

"_What?"_

The large-framed Sannin gulped, afraid for his life as he was going to reveal one matter that the Hokage had overlooked.

"_You...do know you're paying for that wall, don't you?"_

At this, Tsunade blinked. She hadn't thought about that, actually. But there was no way in hell or heaven that she'd give up her _sake_ money to repair the hospital's wall. After all, she DID broke down the wall for the good of all humanity in the hospital, whether they realized it or not. So in the end, she shrugged the problem off of her shoulders and proceeded to walk away from a poker-faced Jiraiya.

To her, all and all it's just another brick in the wall.

**xoxoxo**

_Hospital, patient room #38, thirty-six hours later..._

A groan resounded throughout the room, the source being the mouth of one blond-haired patient who was clad in white hospital robe. The blond sullenly cracked his eyes bit by bit, wincing when the light pierced through his retina. He groaned again, _"Where the hell am I...?"_

"_Awake, sleepy-head?"_ A feminine voice said, amusement lacing her tone.

Naruto tilted his head to the side, and was surprised—in a good way—to see a shock of pink hair on the side of his bed. _"Sakura-chan."_ He muttered. Said girl smiled at him while continuing to peel off an apple's skin in her hands with a small knife, _"Good to see, too, Naruto."_

Naruto rubbed his head as nausea came to him like a tsunami, and groaned for the third time that day, _"How long was I out for?"_

"_Not that long, I guess. I'd figure we were only out for like a few days."_ She suddenly grinned, _"I was up and about way earlier than you. You were sleeping like a hibernating polar bear!"_

Naruto pouted cutely at the remark, _"Hey, I lost more chakra than you did, so that's only natural!"_

Sakura giggled at Naruto's childish behaviour. She knew of his dislike of losing, and that fact had never changed even when he had matured. At times, she wasn't annoyed of that. In fact, she was greatly thankful because that meant she could tease him so much.

Naruto glanced sideways at the pink-haired girl sitting next to him. Unknown to her, he let himself smile when she giggled. There was this nice feeling that he always gets when he made her laugh, probably because she was his first crush. And because personally, he liked the face she made when she laughed. When they were younger, Sakura was never the type to actually let herself go, let alone laugh so openly like he always did. It was a shame, though, because he thought that she was most pretty—beautiful, even—when she was laughing openly. It was like her letting her inner emotions out.

To him, the sight of when she was like that was precious.

Beautiful.

"_Excuse me?"_

Naruto blinked, surprised by Sakura's sudden question, _"Eh?"_

Sakura stared at the blond, her eyebrows raised in curiosity, _"You said beautiful. What do you mean?"_

It took him several dumbfounded seconds to figure out he had just voiced his own thoughts. He gaped, stammered, and at the end he awkwardly pointed at the sky through the window on his right side, _"Oh, um, ah...I-I mean the sky is beautiful today! Yeah! The sky is beautiful today, just as beautiful as—"_ His hands flashed upwards to cover his mouth. Cursing the pit of his probable doom that was his mouth, he forcefully clamped his jaw tightly, missing his tongue by a hair's breadth.

Sakura, for her part, stared at the blond boy incredulously, _"As beautiful as...? You're breaking up there."_

"_Um, well, aah..."_ He stammered again. _'What's with me and my mouth? Does it really has a mind of its own!'_ He thought furiously. He concluded that, perhaps it did, and now it was taking its revenge because Naruto hadn't fed it ramen for what felt like a week.

"_A-as beautiful as..."_ Naruto's eyes darted to the window again and caught a sight of a full-blooming cherry blossom tree. Unable to think anything else, he blurted the first thing that came to his mind, which was the only thing he could do as of the moment in his still groggy state.

"_As beautiful as the cherry blossom _(sakura)_ under it!"_

Now, Naruto was a person who always made many misunderstanding between people. Several people had seen it firsthand, only to see the blond either gets pummeled to the ground if the person that misunderstood him was a woman, or to see him gets into a fight with a guy who misunderstood him. In any case, Naruto's mouth WAS literally his personal pit of demise.

And, even for Sakura who was used to the whiskered blond's idiocy, she blushed at Naruto's words. Taking in the probable idea that Naruto was praising her was the first thing she did. Which wasn't her fault, by the way. I mean, Naruto DID technically said "sakura"; whether he meant the literal tree or the cherry-haired girl beside him, she had no idea. The grin on his face made it even harder for Sakura to cool the heat on her face down, so instead she bonked his head harshly while looking to the side.

"_BAKA! Don't say things like that so suddenly!"_

"_EEH? But what did I say?"_ Naruto inquired, rubbing his bumped head soothingly.

Sakura shook her head violently, almost making her throw the apple in her hands in process, _"AAAH! Never mind! Now eat this!"_ She roughly slammed the apple into Naruto's wide-opened mouth, effectively silencing him. Naruto gagged; **gagged** as he tried to breath, chew, and swallow the apple the size of his fist. Tears were coming out of his eyes dramatically.

Sakura ignored the struggle and stood up quickly, almost making the metal chair she was sitting on fall on the floor, _"When you finished eating that, get ready to leave. We're going to pay Spiderman a visit."_ She said, her back facing the gagging blond. Said knuckleheaded blond stopped his flailing arms almost automatically when he comprehend what Sakura had just said. He tried to speak, but his voice was muffled by the apple. Annoyed, he bit down hard on the apple—which almost cost him his jaw muscles—and chewed the apple as a whole.

Sakura could only stare at her teammate with a poker face, _'Leave it to me to forget how big his mouth actually is.'_ She thought, mentally face-palming.

"_I forgot about Spiderman!"_ Naruto exclaimed as he had devoured the apple completely, only to gag once more and coughed out the apple's center. Sakura cringed; the piece of apple Naruto just coughed out was covered with his spit. Utterly disgusting, to her at least.

"_Where's Spiderman now?"_ Naruto asked anxiously.

"_If you'd just shut up,"_ Sakura growled, grabbing Naruto's wrists harshly and pulled him out of his bed, blanket and all, _"And follow me, it'll be much easier."_

Naruto's eyes darted from Sakura's face to her hand holding his, an apparent blush crossed his face. He narrowed his eyes and looked to the side, _'This isn't following. You're practically dragging me!'_ A slip of annoyance crossed his mind. And in that one second, his mind went haywire, showing him images that...he wasn't prepared to see. His eyes widened, and he promptly retracted his left hand from Sakura's grip as if it was burning him. Confused, the pink-haired medic turned and stared at Naruto, confusion written all over her face, _"Naruto?"_

Naruto was seen clutching his head with his right hand, his dishelved hair being messed up even more by his hand's clutching. He was visibly sweating, and his eyes were tightly shut as if he was preventing any light to invade his eyes. After a short while, just before Sakura was worried enough to actually shake him awake from whatever nightmare he was going through, he opened his eyes. He shook his head, and then faced Sakura who was beginning to get worried.

"_Sorry 'bout that. I had a headache suddenly."_ Naruto said, as if nothing serious actually happened.

However, it was clear to Sakura that somethind DID happen. And one thing told Sakura that what Naruto had wasn't just a normal headache; that is the neutral expression on his face. Something about it kind of reminds her of Sai when he was first introduced to the team, minus the ever-annoying smile. The eyes Naruto used to look at her were the same as Sai's at that time; emotionless and empty. All of his silliness and exuberant nature diminished, all in a blink of an eye.

Silence reigned the hallway, and Sakura realized that she was staring at the blond. Throwing her glance to the side while shaking the oddity that is her teammate out of her mind, she said hesitantly, _"Well...this way then."_

Awkwardly, they continued their walk to Spiderman's room. And in the awkward continuation, there was an awkward silence hanging in the air. Sakura's face harden, herself thinking about what the hell just happened between her and Naruto. What's with him jerking his hand away from hers so suddenly, anyway? If it were the normal him, he would gladly accept the contact and just allow her to drag him like a helpless puppy. Realizing the train of thought she had, she mentally cursed at herself. How could she think so selfishly like that? If Naruto didn't want his hand being held, who was she to protest? Maybe...because he was still healing the pull she exacted on him had hurt him, that's why he jerked his hand away.

Founding a need to clear the tension in the air, she opted to say something, _"Sai had woken up earlier than both of us. He's already waiting for us in Spiderman's room. Yamato-taichou had apparently ran off to Tsunade-shishou, saying he needed to give her the mission report."_ Sakura paused for a moment, as if remembering something, _"Oh yeah, that's right! Spiderman is in the same room as Kakashi-sensei!"_

Naruto raised an eyebrow, _"Spiderman...with Kakashi-sensei? How the hell did they got mixed up in the same room like that?"_

"_I don't know about it, either."_ Sakura said, shrugging, _"Both Spiderman and Kakashi-sensei were still sleeping the last time I was in the room. I don't think they've talked to each other, yet. The only one concious in that room is Sai, who insisted to stay in the room."_

She found herself being extremely glad that Naruto chuckled, beofre he said, _"Now that worries me. Sai had been prancing on and on about our penis the other day."_ The blond suddenly shuddered, _"I suggest we better hurry there before he does some experiments that I DON'T want to know about."_

Even though the previous tension cleared away, thanks to Naruto's joke, the room's temperature dropped a good few degrees. Sakura's eyes were as wide as plates as of the moment, _"He wouldn't DARE."_

Naruto just shrugged, _"I don't really know. But let's just say, we need to prevent that from happening."_

Terrified by Naruto's statement, Sakura sprinted towards Spiderman's room with Naruto tailing behind her. Both were sweating bullets, afraid if what Naruto had deducted was true, and Spiderman would be under severe trauma of harrassment and he would never be the same. The idea itself was enough of a boost for Sakura and Naruto as they picked up their pace, ignoring the screeches they made on the floor and the screams of the nearby nurses about "No running in the hospital."

Eventually, as they reached Spiderman's room's door, Sakura immediately broke through the wooden door, _"Sai, STOP!"_

Inside the room, sitting on a chair beside Spiderman's bed, was Sai with a small canvas on his left hand and a brush on his right one. A tray with a bottle of ink was situated on a table beside Spiderman's bed. Sai turned around, and only gave a neutral look to the pink-haired as an evidence that he was surprised before his face broke into a friendly smile. _"Oh, Sakura-san, you're here. And you brought Naruto-kun as well, I see."_ Sai said. Sakura also saw a silver-haired figure who's hair seemed to defy gravity by its style alone sitting upright and with an orange book in his hands on the far side of the room near the window.

Kakashi was awake, it seemed, and he looked lazily at his pink-haired student with his left eye (his Sharingan, in case you don't know) closed; a visible scar ran down his left eye. _"Hm? Sakura? What's with the ruckus?"_ He said, to which Sakura ignored completely as she set her eyes on the Root member in the room.

"_Sai,"_ The green-eyed medic breathed, _"Whatever it is you were doing, just stop."_

The pale artist blinked once, before shooting off his annoying smile again, _"I might as well, but I'm nearly finishing it. So if you could just wait a few more minutes, I'd be grateful."_

Sakura's face turned aghast as she stared at Sai disbelievingly, her fairly pale skin tone paled even more—nearing Sai's skin tone—as she froze in place. Naruto, who was standing beside her, was looking at her with a confused expression on his face.

"_Sai..."_ Sakura began, an evident threat in her voice.

"_I SAID STOP IT THIS INSTANT!"_ And just like that, Sakura tore off the canvas from Sai's grip, who was too surprised by Sakura's burst of speed to actually do anything about it. He could only exclaim, _"My canvas!"_ As Sakura glared at him and, comically enough, a black miasma seemingly rose behind her. _"Sai, I know what you were doing, and I suggest you stop it before anything bad happen."_

Once again, Sai blinked in surprise. Being taken into Team Kakashi had given him more surprises than Danzou's escort-ambush training, and that was saying much. With out so much of keeping his emotions in check, because he had little to none in his arsenal, he said, _"How could my painting of an injured patient do something bad? I'm not intending to summon it out with my Choujuu Giga, if you're wondering."_

Now it was Sakura's turn to blink in surprise. She turned her head to get a good look at the canvas in her hands. Truthfully, much to her surprise, it was nothing like she had expected. As Sakura was expecting something more...inexplicably horrid picture, the painting Sai made was actually a nice one, if not a freaking masterpiece. The painting was that of a person garbed in hospital robe, sleeping peacefully on a bed. She figured that Sai's painting was about Spiderman. That, and there was more to the painting than meets the eye.

Sakura had seen Sai's painting before. Back when she saw him painting abstractly in the morning when they were staying at the Onsen Motel in the previous mission, the painting itself was artistic. However, that painting lacked something that the painting in her hands had. Whereas the old painting Sai made was dull even though it was still a meaningful abstract painting, the one in her hands had more...emotions in it. She couldn't really tell what it really is, but she could say that the painting was far better than the previous ones.

Furthermore, Sai had captured the peaceful expression on Spiderman's—in this case, Peter's—sleeping face perfectly, and he even added sunlight lines and the darkening on the side of Spiderman's un-highlighted face to further perfecting it. And, although Sakura hated to admit it, the painting took her breath away. _"Sai...this painting is amazing!"_

"_I'm glad you like it. But it's still not finished. I still haven't added Kakashi-san into the picture."_ He said, smiling as he did.

"_Hey, I told you it's fine without me in the picture."_ Kakashi lazily reminded the artist, _"That's more preferable, anyway."_

"_It's not right to leave something out of the painting when it's still in your line of sight."_ Sai said, his annoying smile gone as he regarded the one-eyed Jounin with a serious look. _"Besides, the more the merrier."_

Kakashi visibly sighed, _'All I want to do was to read this new Icha Icha Tactics in peace. All that was crumbled just in one day that I was awake and not lazy enough to just doze off because of an additional patient in my room, and the fact that this new patient seems to be in a friendly relation with my team.'_ He glanced sideways while acting like he was still reading his perverted book, _'I wonder who this guy really is, though.'_

"_Kakashi-sensei."_ Kakashi lifted his head to meet Naruto's gaze at him, smiling beneath the mask. _"Naruto, huh? What's up?"_

Naruto shook his head, _"Nah, nothing. It's just that I didn't expect you to get well this fast. And why the hell did the hospital guys let you wear your own clothes while I'm still dressed in a downgraded hospital robe?"_ He suddenly yelled out in frustration, seeing his silver-haired sensei in his usual sleeveless dark blue undershirt which was connected to the mask he was wearing; the mask covering his mouth and nose as well. It pissed the blond off to see his sensei able to wear usual clothes rather than the—according to Naruto—shitty hospital robe.

Kakashi shrugged, _"Probably because I'm already in a better state, and I've been here longer than you."_ He said offhandedly.

Naruto grumbled something about the shitty doctors having favoritism while casting his look to the side. Sakura shook her head at the blond's behaviour. Inwardly, she smiled as she thought of how fast he could shift personality so fast. She handed the canvas back to Sai's awaiting hand, eliciting a smile from the boy. Sai continued his painting, much to Kakashi's demise as he knew that Sai would put him into the picture. It was an amazing sight, though, Sai was painting so fast that it kind of looked like he was scribbling.

Eventually, Naruto broke the comfortable silence with a question, _"How long...do you think it will take for Spiderman to wake up?"_

The question wasn't actually directed to any one individual; rather, he asked to all of the room occupants and wanted know their opinion on the matter. Sakura detected the guilty voice Naruto used, and somehow she couldn't help but feel the same. All this happened because they couldn't hold their grounds against Sasuke. No matter how strong they've become after those three years of training, Sasuke had become even stronger.

And they depended on Spiderman to fight him. They depended on another person who wasn't even a shinobi of Konoha, who wasn't even a shinobi of any village, to clean up their mess. And this is what they get for entrusting him with such a burden; a hero on a hospital bed, previously hanging on the edge of his life after fighting the Uchiha.

"_...he'll come to, eventually."_ Sakura said, trying to ease out the clench of guilt in her heart, _"The doctors said that he's well on his way to fully recover. Besides, he won't die...he's too strong for that. Right, Naruto?"_

Naruto smiled at her and nodded. Somehow, he had a feeling that he could believe in Sakura's words. She is, after all, a medic—one of the best—and she of all people should know about all of the medical things. _"Yeah. After all, he is...just like me. And guys like me won't be staying long in a freaking hospital!"_ He let out, suddenly ecstatic. Both Sakura and Sai smiled at the blond, founding themselves believing in what the blond said.

Kakashi, however, was curious to what the blond had just said, _"Just like you? What's that suppose to mean, I wonder?"_

Reluctantly, Naruto explained the whole ordeal with their previous mission. He couldn't just straight on explain about how they saw Spiderman activated his Bijuu's powers, because Kakashi had insisted for Naruto to explain everything about Spiderman. To Kakashi, Spiderman was a complete stranger placed on the same room as him. At the end of Naruto's explanation, Kakashi sighed heavily.

"_I never thought that Tsunade-sama would go as far as requesting backup from the outer nations for this mission alone. She must've been especially cautious of Orochimaru."_ He commented. He glanced at the sleeping form of Spiderman, observing the stranger while thinking, _'He surely has a face of an outsider. If I didn't know better, I would've called him a gaijin__1__ at first sight.'_

He broke his stare on Spiderman when he realized that the other three people in the room—Naruto, Sakura and Sai—were also staring at the bed-ridden hero. _"Hm...he must be very interesting for you guys to stare at him like that."_ He said, making the three break out of their thoughts.

"_Well, he is actually VERY interesting."_ Sakura answered, _"But the reason we're staring at his face is because he wore a mask throughout the mission. Hell, he never took off his mask, not even once. He's like a second you, Kakashi-sensei."_

"_A second me, huh...?"_ The one-eyed Jounin muttered. He eyed (no pun intended) the three teammates, knowing that they wouldn't be going out of the room anytime soon. _"Why don't you two take a seat, Naruto, Sakura? I have a feeling that this guy is one heck of a sleeper."_

**xoxoxo**

_In Spiderman's subconcious..._

Humans always say that Tailed Beasts are animals (albeit an oversized version of one). The reason that they called the gigantic chakra beings as such is because they behave like one. For example, _Ichibi no Shukaku_ had the form of an oversized tanuki. Tanuki (some sort of racoon, if you may) always cause trouble here and there, either stealing human food or wrecking their farms, even in the most superficial way. The worst would be a full-grown tanuki eating a rabbit which a human took care of. Ichibi behave as such, only with a wider understanding of trouble.

Another example would be _Kyuubi no Kitsune_, otherwise known as the Nine-Tailed Fox. Foxes (in Japanese history, anyway) tend to cause mischief not unlike the tanuki. Known as well as the greatest symbol of mischief, foxes are quite hated by humans. Now, in the case of Kyuubi who is a gigantic version of a fox, just like Ichibi his understanding of mischief is wider than most.

Strangely, for a wolfish Bijuu like him, Raibi was considered the most humane of the beasts by his brothers and sisters. Even though he had the form of a wolf AND even though he was Kyuubi's clone, his appearance betrayed his behaviour. He would be, if people found out about it, the Bijuu with the most patience of them all. That, and his humane train of thought made him somewhat a problem child in the eyes of his brothers and sisters.

However, just like the fact that no rock is unbreakable, Raibi's patience had its limits. And right now, it was dangling in the edge of its last thread.

No matter how the nine-tailed wolf dislikes it, Spiderman wasn't waking up even though the chakra exhaustion treatment had been given. Even in his mental world Spiderman was sleeping; like currently, in which he was sleeping in front of Raibi's cage with the blue-furred wolf staring blankly at him. Once a while, Raibi would blow at the sleeping hero to try and wake him up. If it wasn't for the cage, he would've bitch-slap his Jinchuuriki just to rouse him from his sleep.

'**This is taking too long...logically, if he's sleeping in the real world, he should be awake in his subconcious.'** Raibi muttered. The knowledge that this predicament wasn't dangerous whatsoever calmed him down a bit, but he was getting fed up by the young Parker's laziness.

'**I hope this'll work.'** Raibi said, before putting both of his paws in front of him and clapped it together, making it look like a handseal, **'**_**Meiton: Ikari no Kengen!**_**'**

Raibi expelled a dark cloud of miasma from his body, which moved through the bars of his cage and glided towards Spiderman sleeping form. Just as he was several feet away from Spiderman, the miasma spun around like a twister with a resounding thunderclap. The dark twister eventually receeded, revealing a humanoid figure. Raibi sighed when he saw it, **'Just wake him up. I don't particularly care about how you do it.'**

The figure, now being discernable as a costume-wearing person with the inverse pattern of Spiderman's costume; in which it was blue rather than red in several places and white web pattern, cackled, _**'hAh! tO tHiNK oUR KiNg wOULd bE sOmEoNe sO wEaK! I'LL dO yOuR diRTy wORk jUsT tHiS oNcE, sPaRkY!'**_

Raibi sighed again after hearing the nickname Nega-Spiderman had gave him. Bringing out the inverse web-head was a troublesome idea, indeed. The 'dark side' tended to go yelling out stuff which more often than not caused headaches to Raibi. Actually, Raibi didn't really want to rely on Nega-Spiderman to wake up the real Spiderman, because there was a chance the inverse entity would not as he told him to.

As in, try and take over Spiderman's body and control it.

Fortunately, as long as Raibi's there, that kind of incident wouldn't be happening. Nega-Spiderman is, after all, part of Raibi's chakra.

True enough, Nega-Spiderman did nothing fishy. All the while he was trying to wake up Spiderman; starting by yelling out _**'oU-sAmA!'**_ right in front of Spiderman's unmasked face, tickling his sides which seemed to have no effect, and outright bitch-slapping him across the face several times. The last one was actually funny, to which Raibi chuckled and considered cheering for Nega-Spiderman to keep it up. In the end, however, Spiderman had yet to wake up and Nega-Spiderman had already tired himself out after a long combo of bitch-slaps.

'_**jUh...jU-jUsT wHaT tHe heLL iS KeEpiNg hiM aSLeEp?'**_ Nega-Spiderman yelled out.

'**He's probably too busy dreaming about a certain redhead.'** Raibi muttered, disappointed that the Spiderman's inverse version didn't succeed in waking him up.

'_**yOu tHiNk wE sHoULd uSe a hOwL oN hiM? I cOuLd reaLLY uSe sOmEtHiNG tO wAKe hiM uP.'**_

'**At the level he's currently in, his soul won't stand a chance.'** Raibi said, completely disagreeing the idea Nega-Spiderman had, **'Plus, I think it would be better if we show it firsthand when he's ready.'**

'_**yOu mEAn hOwL iT, riGHt?'**_ The dark entity joked, _**'sUrE, wHY nOT? iF hE cAN kEEp hiS aSS uP aFTEr yOU hOwL aT hiM, oR bETTer yEt, iF hE cAN hOwL fOR hiMsELf, hE'LL bE a wOrThY cOmPeTiTion fOR mE!'**_

Raibi frowned at Nega-Spiderman, even though what the inverse-clothed entity said was actually what he had in mind. The problem, though, was that Nega-Spiderman saw Spiderman as a competition. That means...

'**You still don't think of him as your king?'**

Suddenly, Nega-Spiderman laughed out loud, _**'hAh! yOu tHiNk tHaT tHe tHrOnE oF tHe KiNg oF hiS miND wOuLd bE sO wiLLiNgLy giVeN? aS LoNg aS hE hAs a dArK siDE, tHeRe wiLL aLwAyS a fiGhT fOr dOMinAnCe!'**_ He cackled again,_** 'hEcK, hE bAReLy wOn aGAiNsT hiS oWn pOwEr; tHaT bLAcK sUiT oF hiS. iF hE eVeN dReAmS aBoUT tAkiNG mE dOWn, hE'LL nEEd eVeRy dRoP of pOwEr hE cOuLd gET!'**_

Raibi and Nega-Spiderman then locked in a stare contest, with the wolf frowning and the false webhead grinning like mad. Eventually, Nega-Spiderman let down his stare and let himself disappear slowly; transforming into a cloud of miasma and flying back to Raibi. Raibi was silent even as the miasma merged with his body, and his eyes was kept staring at the sleeping Spiderman. Eventually, he said, **'That he will, my friend...that he will.'**

Sometimes Raibi wondered about the dark entity that is Nega-Spiderman. That insane entity was, regrettably, his own creation by using his Manifestation of Rage. Ironically, he was the most successful of all Bijuu in that particular jutsu. He didn't actually took a liking in his talent, at all; if successfully manifesting an insane, unstable dark side of his Jinchuuriki **is** considered a talent, anyways.

'Guy sounds pretty sad, don't you think?'

Raibi raised his head to see Spiderman, the real one, arousing from his sleep and trying to sit upright. **'So you finally came to, huh?' **Raibi asked rhetorically. Spiderman chuckled, before rubbing his cheek slowly, 'It's hard to keep asleep after that last slap of his.'

'**Really? I thought you were still sleeping at that time.'**

The web-slinger stared blankly at the giant wolf, 'You try slapping Kyuubi in the face and ask him if it stings.'

'**Ah.'**

Spiderman shook his head. Although he wouldn't admit it, Nega-Spiderman's slaps had caused a nasty headache for him. Raibi wasn't lying to him when he said that Nega-Spiderman would be several times stronger than him. 'How long was I out for?'

'**A few good days. Opening the seal took a toll on both you and your mind; which might explain why you were sleeping even though you're in your mindscape.'**

'How're the others?'

Raibi sighed, **'They're faring a lot better than you, actually. Both Sakura and that pale-faced dude didn't really suffer any fatal wounds. Naruto almost gave all his chakra to summon a ride home, though he's not in imminent danger anymore. That Yamato guy exhausted his chakra just to support your seal, because the **_**Tenchi Mon no Fuuin**_**'s security system activated and tried to attack your teammates.'**

'Security system? How the hell could a seal have a security system?'

'**I guess Cynthia-baachan never get to tell you before, eh?'** Raibi exhaled, his breath almost blowing Spiderman off of his feet. Spiderman cringed, once again smelling the smell of the charred meat in Raibi's breath, 'Seriously, go brush your teeth or something...' He muttered.

Raibi either ignored, or he really didn't hear Spiderman's remark, **'That seal...**_**Tenchi Mon no Fuuin**_** is a seal original from Cynthia-baachan. She made it herself before, when she was still fighting alongside Konoha ninjas, and completed it when she became a Spider Sage.'**

'So...the data on that file in Konoha's library is true, then? That Madam Web is a resident of Konoha?'

'**Was, I would say.'** Raibi corrected, **'That was a long time ago, around the times of the Second or Third Great Ninja War, I guess.'**

Silence reigned the sewer-like mindscape. Spiderman took a good amount of time to take all of the information in, though he himself wasn't liking it one bit. Madam Web never told him about this; not the seal, nor the fact that she had once lived in Konoha. There should be a reason that she kept it a secret; a secret that she didn't even reveal to her only apprentice. It unnerved Spiderman to think about it. Just how long did she kept it away from him?

He broke out of his musing as he caught something from the corner of his eyes. He looked up at the seal holding the bars of Raibi's cage together and...

'Raibi...what the freaking hell happened to the seal?'

Raibi lifted his head so that his muzzle pointed to the seal holding together the cage he was being kept in, **'So you finally realized it.'**

The seal was, to say the least, identical to what Jiraiya and Tsunade had seen previously (I'm kind of lazy to describe it again, so I'll leave it to your imagination.). The shape of the seal was so different from the first one that Spiderman saw. To say he was surprised would be a lie, because he was completely shell-shocked he couldn't even form words with his tongue.

'...exactly what happened when I was unconcious?'

Raibi growled while looking at the wet sewer floor beneath him, **'Something life-changing, if you really want to know. This might be Web-baachan's doing, seeing that the seal on the cage is another one of her original seal.'**

'Life-changing?'

Raibi became silent once more, to which annoys Spiderman further. Whenever he asked something about what Raibi said, the Bijuu would always go silent like this. Before he could complain this fact, Raibi suddenly chuckled. 'What's so funny?'

'**It seems that you DO have good friends...'**

'...okay, I lost you there. What the hell does that suppose to mean?'

'**Wake up, and you'll see what I mean.'**

Spiderman grumbled, 'You're just using excuses to not answer my questions...'

Spiderman's mental form walked towards a door before pushing said door open...only for it to not budge. Spiderman raised an eyebrow in confusion; he didn't remember making any locks for his mind doors. He pushed one more time, this time more forcefully, but the door still stands still. Spiderman glared at the door, activating his _Raiken_ and slammed his fist to the door, but the stubborn thing didn't move.

'...not sure if I'm being trolled, or doors do have minds of their own.'

'**Have you tried pulling?'** Raibi suggested sarcastically.

And as Spiderman followed Raibi's suggestion, it proved that the blue wolf was right. The door moved when he pulled it, and opened wide for him. Spiderman cast an irritated look on his Bijuu, to which Raibi replied with an innocent smirk.

'I seriously think you're too human to be a Bijuu.'

'**Well that's funny...sometimes, I do, too.'**

**xoxoxo**

_In the real world..._

Even though Spiderman's conciousness had finished talking with Raibi, the human figure of himself was having a hard time to crack his eyes open. The muscles moving his eyelids were too cranky and lazy to comply to his brain's orders. The more Spiderman tried to open his eyes, the more he felt like his eyelids were glued shut with some ACME super-glue.

'Aaah, looks like I won't be waking up anytime soon.' He thought, 'Oh well, back to dreaming about Mary Jane, then.'

But Fate had a sick sense of humor, because as Spiderman was ready to dose off to his dreamland, he heard voices ringing in his head. Actually, there was more ringing in his ears to which affected his head. Judging by the sudden fan-girlish squeal that shook his eardrums, his hypothesis was correct.

"_Kyaaa! He's cute!"_

What.

"_Ino, shut it! He's sleeping for crying out loud!"_

The.

"_Sakura-chan, you're not less noisy than Ino, yourself."_

Freaking.

"_SHUT UP!"_

Hell?

"_You three, shut up. *yawn*"_

"_ALL OF YOU SHUT UP!"_

"_WOOOH! IT IS UNYOUTHFUL TO DISTURB SOMEONE IN HIS SLUMBER!"_

"_LEE, SHUT IT!"_

Can't anybody get a peaceful sleep these days? And this was supposed to be a hospital...yeah, right. No hospital would sound like Hitler's office when he was arguing with his subordinates. Half-heartedly, Spiderman went backtracking from his journey to lala-land and back to reality. Groggily cracking his eyes open, he was greeted with the sight of multiple blurry colors. His eyes eventually re-focused, clearing the images and revealed...several people.

He took notice of several people he knew; Naruto, Sakura, Sai, Ino and...Tenten, isn't it? Yeah, the girl from the weapon store. 'And those two...I remember them coming in the infirmary when me and Naruto finished our fight in the Chuunin exams. Err...who are they again? White-eyed, pale-faced family members of Hanabi's family?' Naruto and Sakura were seated beside his bed on a metal chair, both dressed in hospital garments and looking a bit exhausted; though that diminishes in the instant Spiderman woke up.

"_You're awake!"_ Spiderman blinked and looked to his left, seeing Naruto with a huge grin facing him.

Spiderman groaned, seemingly in pain while his hands raised to his face, looking like they were shielding his eyes, _"Ah, great. I felt like I was in coma for a few days and the first sight I got was an ugly face? Poor me."_ He joked. Naruto's grin vanished and was replaced by a scowl while a tick of a nerve formed on his forehead comically, _"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"_

His joke somehow elicited several chuckles and giggles from everyone in the room, the latter coming from the girls. Only one of them outright laughed out loud, and that person gained Spiderman's attention.

"_Man, just a minute passed since he woke up and I already like this guy!"_ The boy who laughed out loud before said.

Spiderman tilted his head sideways, confused by the boys appearance; or preferably, the red fang-like tattoo which adorned his cheeks. Feeling a little awkward by being surrounded by several strangers, he spoke, _"I...don't believe we've met. Who're you guys?"_

"_Ah, yeah, that's right. You haven't met some of them."_ Naruto answered, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. Spiderman shook his head, _"The only ninjas I've met and currently present are you, Sakura, Sai, Ino and...Tenten, right?"_ He guessed. Tenten nodded her head excitedly, grinning proudly as she noticed Spiderman remembering her name.

"_I guess this calls for a crash course introductions. Well, guys?"_ Naruto asked them all.

"_So, what, tell our names and stuff?"_ A...somewhat tubby boy said in the middle of his munching on a bag of potato chips. The first characteristic that Spiderman picked up on him was the swirls on both of his cheeky cheeks, which looked ridiculous to him.

"_Yeah, that and all the other stuffs. You know, likes and dislikes, the usual."_ Naruto replied.

"_That sounds troublesome..."_ A boy with his hair tied up in a high spiky ponytail said with a lazy tone in his voice. The boy, to Spiderman at least, looked plain as he only sported the standard outfit of a Chuunin, complete with the vest. His _hitai-ate_ was tied to his left bicep.

"_Well, seeing as you think it's so troublesome, why don't you start first, Shikamaru?"_ Naruto shot a smirk of triumph as the ponytailed boy seemed like he was caught off guard by the request. He muttered something about troublesome blonds and their antics, but it was too quiet for Spiderman to actually discern what the boy was saying.

"_Fine, then."_ The teen finally said, _"Although it's too much of drag, I'll go first. The name's Nara Shikamaru, Chuunin-level shinobi of Konoha and member of team 10."_ Shikamaru saw Spiderman raising an eyebrow in curiosity. _"Team 10?"_ The bed-ridden hero asks. Shikamaru sighs, _"We're grouped up in teams of three with a Jounin team leader. My team is called Team 10, consisting of Ino and Chouji."_ He pointed at Ino and the chip-munching boy behind him. Spiderman nodded in understanding, looking satisfied by the explanation.

Shikamaru paused, glancing at Naruto who cupped his mouth and mouthed _"likes and dislikes"_ to which Shikamaru sighed at, _"I like non-troublesome stuffs and dislike troublesome stuffs."_

'That's...pretty plain.' Spiderman thought, dropping a comical bead of sweat at Shikamaru's laziness even in introductions. 'Shikamaru...I'll codename him Droopy.'

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head while sighing tiredly for the umpteenth time that day, turning around to the other members of Konoha Eleven, _"All right, who's next? Let's just get on with it so I can get some sleep."_

"_Oh, oh, pick me! Pick me!"_ The fang-tattooed boy exclaimed childishly, to which Shikamaru sighed and waved lazily at. The boy wore a black jacket as well as a pair of black pants, which Spiderman noted that both of them looked like leather. His _hitai-ate_ rests proudly on his forehead.

"_All right!"_ The tattooed teen said as he stepped forward. As he did, Spiderman noticed a...wolf-sized, white-furred dog trudging beside the boy. '...look, Raibi! It's your father!'

'**...you're lucky I'm bound to this prison, kid. Otherwise, I would've pulled that annoying tongue out of your equally annoying mouth.'** Raibi growled back mentally.

"_That's...quite the big dog you got there."_

The dog-owner grinned proudly, _"Yep. He's one of a kind. My name's Inuzuka Kiba, Chuunin-level and member of team 8. This guy here,"_ He clamped his hand on the big dog's head, ruffling it slightly, _"Is Akamaru, my familiar."_

"_But he's white."_ Spiderman stated, a sweat-drop once again forming on his forehead.

Pretending not to hear the statement, Kiba continued, _"I like my family, Akamaru, my team and pretty much all of my friends. I dislike a bunch of other things, but what I HATE are people who treat others lower than themselves, just because they're not human."_

'We got ourselves an Ace Ventura, here.' Spiderman thought. _"Glad that we're on the same page, dude."_ He said, mentioning Kiba's particular dislike. There was actually a lot of people who would've made themselves in Kiba's hate-list; preferably the mutant-haters. Hell, Wolverine might actually like the teen.

Kiba grinned, before turning around and looked at his two teammates; Hinata and Shino. Deciding he would choose one of them to do the next introduction, he eyed both of them. A while later, he broke into a grin, _"All right! Hinata, you're up next."_ Said Hyuuga girl promptly yelped in surprise at the sudden call. _"M-me?"_ The girl had dark-blue, borderline indigo hair which was long enough to reach her middle back. Her face was pale as porcelain; actually, almost every girl present is like that, Spiderman noted. She wore a loose white-blue hoodie and a pair of standard issue blue pants which only reached her ankles. She wore her _hitai-ate_ like a necklace, in which it encircled her neck with the metal plate facing front. And while Spiderman was no pervert (that side of him either never existed, got thrown out of his mind by MJ since the start of his puberty, or being completely taken in by Nega-Spiderman), he couldn't help but notice that Hinata's...assets, looked somewhat big. At the very least, it was able to push up the loose hoodie she was wearing.

"_Well, d'uh. How much Hinata is there in this room, anyways?"_ Kiba rhetorically asked.

"_Umm, one?"_ Naruto suddenly answered, scratching the back of his head while looking as oblivious as he ever was.

"_Do you really have to answer that?"_ Kiba said, sweat-dropping. As he stepped away and let Hinata take the spotlight, he noticed that Shino had a dark aura around him. _"Hm? Shino, what's wrong?"_

The hooded teen gave a passive stare—which may be the result of his black sunglasses blocking his eyes—as he talked slowly, but clearly, _"I thought, Kiba, that you would've picked me. Why? Because out of the whole Rookie 9, I thought I have a better teamwork with you."_ Kiba cringed at the tone Shino was using. Slow, dark and somehow depressing...this tone is the sign that meant Shino is sulking.

Back to Hinata, _"A-ano...we've m-met before, ha-haven't we?"_

"_Well, yeah, back in the Chuunin Exams in the infirmary. How could I forget that? Unfortunately, neither of us had actually gave each other a proper introduction."_ Spiderman said.

"_U-um...I guess so."_ Hinata stated in a hesitant tone, her nervousness dominating her once again as she began twiddling with her pointing finger. Spiderman sweat-dropped at the so-so statement, still not believing that this girl was supposed to be a ninja. 'How Fury would go all military-like to shy girls like her...' He thought, somehow picturing a battle-hardened Nick Fury shouting at Hinata to 'man up', even though she's female.

"_M-my name is Hyuuga Hinata, Chuunin of team 8 along with Kiba-kun and Shino-kun. And, uh, about the things I like..."_ Hinata's pupil-less eyes diverted to the side ever so slightly, the movement escaping the notice of everyone except Spiderman. He followed the direction of her glance and found himself staring at... 'Naruto? Is she staring at Naruto?'

Suddenly, as if he just solved the famed Da Vinci code, his eyebrows shot up, 'I see...my cupid-senses are tingling.'

'**You have another extra sense other than your spider-sense?'** Raibi asked mentally, amused and interested by the sudden thought his Jinchuuriki just made.

'Uh, actually it's just common sense. Everyone would've picked up the fact that our Hyuuga princess here has got a crush on Naruto.' Spiderman looked up at Hinata when she finally continued, _"I-I mean, I like my family and friends, and my village as well. I dislike p-people who look down on other people, and people who doesn't see someone as who they really are."_

'People who doesn't see someone as who they really are, eh? She might've picked that up from Naruto being a Jinchuuriki.' Spiderman thought hypothetically. _"A-and..."_ Hinata didn't look like she was finished, so it made Spiderman curious to what she had to say. She finally said, after a long string of stammer and stutter, _"I was never able to thank you properly for what you did for Hanabi-chan. S-she changed for the better, because of you."_

At the thought of the little future clan head, Spiderman grinned so wide his eyes scrunched up, _"Yeah, I can see that. It seems fighting me has got its perks, after all! Anyway, how is she?"_

Hinata smiled, _"She's doing very well. Th-thank you for asking, by the way."_

"_Still on her way to be a clan head, I presume?"_

"_H-hai. B-but, she's trying to d-do it differently, now. Uh, I mean, she's trying t-to be a little more responsible."_

Suddenly, Spiderman felt the urge to grin widely, which he did. He felt a speck of pride which gradually swelled inside his chest. What the others didn't know was that Spiderman had actually thought of Hanabi like a student of his, having explained to her his _nindo_ a while ago. To hear from her sister that she is actually following his dictum made him proud.

Spiderman nodded at the Hyuuga princess. After Hinata finished her introduction, she turned around and was surprised to see Kiba looking at her pleadingly. _"Oi, Hinata, can you please pick Shino next?"_ Hinata blinked, and then noticed Shino leaning to a wall behind Kiba with a dark aura around him. _"Ah. I see...Shino-kun? D-do you want to go next?"_

Shino, hearing his name called, leaned away from the wall and nodded, _"Yes, I think I do. Thank you, Hinata."_ Shino, as noted by Spiderman, was wearing a grey hooded jacket with a tint of green on it over a black, high-collared shirt. The collar itself was so high it masks the lower half of his face, leaving his eyes—which were also covered with a pair of black sunglasses—and ears being visible. Because of Shino wearing the hoodie over his head, Spiderman couldn't see his hair, but he guessed that Shino's hair color was dark brown judging by the small tresses falling near his forehead. That, too, was covered by his _hitai-ate_. His pants were black, with his ankles being covered with bandages.

'...which Pharaoh is he?' Spiderman thought, accidentally picturing a mummy fresh out of a tomb. Hell, even just by looking at him Spiderman felt sweaty, and Shino didn't even looked like he was feeling hot.

"_Say, what's with the clothing? You look like you're going to kidnap someone's children."_ He stated. There was a visible twitch on Shino's left eyebrow, but Shino himself stayed impassive as he answered, _"My clan jutsu involves my body being a hive for the insects I control. As it is, it's too much of a gory sight if I were to show the parts of my body."_

'And they say Pym needs pest control...' Again, an anime sweat-drop formed on Spiderman's forehead. This group of people seemed to have a lot of surprises, that much he was sure of.

Shino cleared his throat, _"My name is Aburame Shino, Chuunin level shinobi and a member of Team 8. I don't particularly like a lot of things. Why? Because liking a lot of things could be a hindrance in a mission. But I care for my teammates and friends, as well as this village. I don't actually dislike anything. Why? Because yet again it could be a hindrance in a mission. But I particularly hate pesticides, as my insects are vulnerable to it."_

Spiderman had a "dafuq?" face at the end of Shino's explanation, his mind thinking only one thing, 'This is definitely the reincarnation of Hank Pym! His love for insects is ridiculous. It's...it's...!'

'**It's what?'** Raibi said, getting annoyed but curious at the same time.

Spiderman, mentally, was silent when Raibi asked him. Suddenly, he trembled before striking a pose with his one leg raised, the other standing on its toes, his left arm crossing his chest while his right arm was pointing to the sky as he suddenly screamed, 'OVER NINE-THOUSAND!'Which prompted Raibi to sneak a tail through the bars of his cage and proceeded to smack Spiderman on the head with it, rather comically might I add.

Shaking his head to clear the sudden headache he got (clearly, Raibi's tail-smack was powerful enough to hurt Spiderman's real form), he noticed that Shino hasn't made any movements since he finished explaining; probably because he was expecting a reaction from Spiderman. So he gave him one, _"I...I see. So I assume that the vegetables you eat are, um, garden-fresh?"_

Shino actually raised a curious eyebrow at Spiderman's question, _"Actually, yes, my family grew several to avoid eating the ones normal farmers grow, since they seldomnly used pesticides."_

"_Seriously, Shino? I never knew that you can do gardening!"_ Exclaimed one surprised Yamanaka Ino, who clearly wasn't expecting the fact that the most enigmatic member of the Rookie 9 could do such a thing.

"_I can plant vegetables, if that's what you're asking. Other than that, I consider pointless. Why? Because risking our backside to lean down and plant the seeds has the chance of resulting in backaches during a mission."_

If anything, Spiderman's opinion of the people around him being strange was tripled. '...whole my life I thought of ninjas as cool, silent-deadly assassins. I guess Uncle Ben gave me the wrong book about ninja fairy tale if the real ninjas can actually do FREAKING GARDENING!'

"_Well, that's the end of my introduction. Next is..."_ Shino looked around, trying to find the appropriate person to go next, until his eyes landed on Chouji who was still munching on his potato chips. Strange thing was, the pack of potato chips had a different brand on it, which means that that's a new pack he was eating. _"Chouji, if you would be so kind?"_

"_Oh, okay!"_ Chouji exclaimed, putting down his favorable snack on a nearby table, albeit a little hesitantly. Spiderman began taking mental notes of Chouji's appearance. As he had seen before, Chouji had red swirls—a tattoo, perhaps—one on each of his chubby cheeks. What he didn't realize before was that Chouji's spiky brown hair was long enough to reach his mid-back between his shoulder blades. He wore a set of what looked like a large breastplate with a kanji painted in red on it, covering his chest and belly while other metal pieces such as the forearm guards were placed at their respective position. Underneath the armor, he wore a red kimono-like clothing, though Spiderman couldn't really tell with the breastplate covering almost the entire clothing. For the legs, Chouji wore a matching red loose pants, the holes where his feet should stick out from was covered with bandages from his ankle to his shin. It was then that Spiderman decided that the bandages were the mainstream type of clothing for ninjas. And that's not to say that the shinobi sandals Chouji wore wasn't mainstream, either. His red-clothed _hitai-ate_ was tied to his forehead.

"_My name's Akimichi Chouji, Chuunin-level member of Team 10 along with Shikamaru and Ino. I like my teammates and friends, but the main thing I like is FOOD!"_ The way Chouji's eyes lit up at the mention of food left Spiderman gaping, _"The two best kind of foods I like is yakiniku from Yakiniku Q and ramen from Ichiraku Ramen!"_ At that statement, both Chouji and Naruto gave each other a high-five, to which Spiderman sweat-dropped at.

'At least he has a high respect for food.' Spiderman forced himself to grin, "_Oh, I see...so that's why you're so fa—"_ Suddenly, Naruto's hand slapped itself on Spiderman's mouth, silencing him effectively. Naruto leaned forward and glared at the bed-ridden hero and whispered dangerously to him, _"Webhead, you don't want to finish that sentence. You never, and I mean __**never**__, call Chouji 'that'. It's taboo for him."_

Thank God Spiderman's mouth was covered, thus his voice was muffled. Chouji eyes sparked dangerously, as if his fat-senses heard the word, _"...did you say something?"_

In the background, Lee suddenly let out a shout, _"WOOOH! Chouji-kun has descended to the path of hipness!"_

Naruto ignored Lee's comment and smiled nervously at the 'big-boned' teen, _"Err...nothing Chouji! He didn't say anything!"_ Chouji raised an eyebrow of curiosity, before turning around and muttered something about _gaijin_s not talking clearly. He thought a while, trying to choose the next person to do the introduction, until his eyes landed on a still lit-eyed Lee. _"Lee, I guess that's your turn."_ He said, offering the spandex-wearing boy a smile.

"_YOOSH! I will introduce myself as well as the Springtime of Youth to the youthful hero that is Spiderman!"_

On the bed, Spiderman cowered under his blanket in fear. Just who the hell is this boy who had his teeth sparkle everytime he grinned? 'Damn, that almost blinded me. And his tights are worse than mine!' True enough, Lee wore a green spandex-like bodysuit which was his overall clothing. The only other clothing he wore are his light green Chuunin vest—which was lightly-colored to avoid being blended with his green spandex—orange leg warmers which had thin black stripes going vertically, and the blue-clothed Konoha _hitai-ate_ tied to his waist like a belt. What Spiderman first noted, however, was the extremely thick pair of eyebrows Lee had, as well as his black hair in a bowl cut.

'...I assume that something lives in those eyebrows of his. And I've only seen so much green since the Hulk; and he's almost butt-naked with his green skin!'

"_Alright! To start my youthful introduction, My name is Rock Lee! I'm a Chuunin-level ninja of team 9 with Neji and Tenten. I have no experience in using Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, because I can't use them!"_

"_I-I see..."_ Spiderman once again stared disbelievingly at one of the members of the Konoha Eleven. Hearing Lee's straightforward statement about him not being able to use Ninjutsu and Genjutsu was...kind of awkward, actually. Not much people would admit their weakness that easily. He was, however, surprised yet again by Lee suddenly boasting again, _"However...I've trained what little talent I have in Taijutsu so that I become a Taijutsu specialist! I'll show to everyone that one can become a great ninja, even without the use of Ninjutsu and Genjutsu!"_

Several people chuckled at Lee's statement; Neji and Tenten's being a bit louder while the latter shook her head, muttering, _"There he goes with his dream again."_

"_Well, well...that's a nice dream. I didn't know being a ninja without being able to use Ninjutsu is possible, at least not until you told me that."_ Spiderman said, impressed by Lee's speech. Lee nodded at him before speaking up again, _"My sensei, Gai-sensei has shown to me the path for those who work hard. He believes in me, that I can be a talented ninja by training my Taijutsu to its utmost capability."_

"_That's impressive."_ Inside his mind, the brunette that is Peter Parker thought, 'He became Chuunin only by using his hand-to-hand combat jutsu? That's no simple feat, even I know that. Hell, if it's true that the only thing he knows is Taijutsu and that he only trains himself in that department, he'd give me, Matt, Logan and Iron Fist a run for our money.'

Lee seemed a little confused when Spiderman fell silent, who unbeknownst to him was actually in deep thought. He turned a little sheepish when Naruto reminded him by mouthing _"likes and dislikes, Bushy Brows!"_, so he continued, _"My likes are training with Gai-sensei, going on youthful missions with my team, and impressing Sakura-san with my youthfulness!"_ At the last comment, Spiderman was caught slack-jawed, and a literal writing of 'Dafuq?' hanging in the air beside his head, while Naruto was caught gritting his teeth angrily, a vein popping near his temple. Sakura, for her part, allowed an anime sweat-drop to form on her forehead.

'You can't impress a girl with youthfulness! It's IMPOSSIBRU!' Spiderman screamed mentally, mentally raising his fist up as a gesture of his objection.

'_Keep your hands away from Sakura-chan, you Centipede Brows!'_ Naruto thought, himself.

"_My dislikes are unyouthful people doing unyouthful actions, and people who look down on other people's dreams!"_ Lee declared, fire blazing in his eyes throughout his speech. At the sight, Spiderman was hard-pressed not to think about a certain hell-biker who's eyes looked just as 'fired-up' as the spandex-wearing teen in front of him. _"O...kay...hey, what's with the numerous mentioning about youth? Surely you don't use it for every sentence you use, do you?"_

"_On the contrary, actually I do. The reason I always say youth is because I'M MASS-DEMONSTRATING THE EFFECTS OF THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH!"_ On cue, Lee's eyes fired up yet again. In response, Spiderman had to make a rewrite of his thoughts. No, Lee didn't resemble Johnny Blaze the Ghost Rider, at all; the constant 'flame on' at the word youth actually resembled more to Johnny Storm the Human Torch.

Suddenly, a gloved hand clamped down on Lee's shoulder and proceeded to shove him out of the way, revealing the hand to belong to a pissed-looking Tenten, _"All right, Lee. I think Spiderman already got the enough about this 'youth' thing. Look! You're scaring him!"_

True, the fact that Spiderman had come to fear the idea of spandex-wearing teens screaming youth in his every step. No one knew that this occurence was a big turning point, where Spiderman had to rethink about his costume, which was also, more or less, a set of tights. '...I still think my costume is just as good as it gets, but I may have to change the design a bit.'

"_You are correct, Tenten! Spiderman does look a little frightened, but it's because he hasn't got the taste of the Springtime of Youth!"_ Lee exclaimed.

"_Enough with that!"_ Tenten did a hand-chop at Lee's head, a nerve growing on her temple. _"Now, since you got your turn, that means Neji's next."_ Tenten gestured towards Neji, who looked back at her impassively. Lee nodded his head vigorously, agreeing with Tenten's suggestion, _"And that he is! Neji, will you be so kind to give a youthful introduction about yourself?"_

"_I don't need you telling me to do it."_ Neji said, closing his eyes as if being in touch with a higher power. Despite the cold response, Lee wasn't fazed by it. It was the Hyuuga's natural talent to be strict and unfeeling, but well, Neji's been like that since the beginning. Lee had gotten accustomed with the white-eyed boy's cold responses and curt nods, having being his teammate since his Academy graduation and all.

Spiderman once again observed the teen in front of him, this time realizing that said teen's eyes are similar to Hinata's. Neji's hair was straight, long and dark-brownish, reaching his lower back. A pair of strands fell down framing his face. There's a strange kind of binding at the ends of his hair strands, to which Spiderman thought, 'Reminds me of Saruman's beard in terms of length. And by the binding around the ends of his hair, it's potentially longer than he lets on.' Neji wore what seemed like a white, single-buttoned yukata which had its button line diagonally crossing to the other side. His sleeves were loose, the circle of his sleeve getting bigger near his wrists. He also wore something that resembles a battle hakama, which reached his knees. Underneath it, he wore a pair of white long pants. He wore the same pair of sandals like the other ninjas. His _hitai-ate _was tied to his forehead.

"_My name is Hyuuga Neji, Jounin-level member of team 9 with my teammates Lee and Tenten. As for my likes and dislikes, I don't really have much to tell about."_ He spoke. Still on the bed, Spiderman quirked an eyebrow at Neji. 'Brief and to the point, eh? Quite the grasp on military aspect for someone so young.' As Spiderman finished thinking, another thought passed his mind, 'Wait a minute...'

"_Hey, uh...did you say that you're a Jounin?"_

Neji blinked in surprise, obviously not prepared for that kind of question as that info was already known by a lot of his friends, _"Yes, I did. Why?"_

"_Ah, nothing. It's just that, Jounin's above Chuunin, right? Why are you the only one being Jounin while your other two teammates still Chuunin?"_

As if on cue, Tenten stepped forward with an excited smirk on her face, _"Well, that's because Neji here is a prodigy! He's the only one of us who passed the Jounin Exams with flying colors."_

Neji simply closed his eyes, thinking nothing of his achievement, _"I simply think that fate made it so."_

At the statement, Spiderman tilted his head questioningly, _"Fate?"_ His question was left unheard as Naruto suddenly spoke up, his voice swallowing Spiderman's, _"Oi, Neji, I thought we're already over this fate crap."_ An annoyed scowl formed on Naruto's lips. In response, Neji stared at him impassively, saying, _"That's what you think. I myself don't remember making any promise about that."_

'So we got a kid with a god complex, huh? Typical.' Spiderman thought, mentally clicking his tongue. To prevent further argument between the Hyuuga teen and Naruto, Spiderman interjected with a question, _"Ano...you're a Hyuuga, too?"_

"_Yes, like I've said in my introduction. However, unlike Hinata-sama, I was born as a member of the branch family. And since Hinata-sama is my cousin who was born as a member of the main family, I'm tasked to be her servant."_

Hinata flustered at the background, _"A-ano, Neji-niisama, I...I don't think you a-as my serv-servant."_

Neji smiled softly at her as he turned around, saying, _"That's fine all the same, Hinata-sama. But whether you prefer it or not, that's who I am."_

Meanwhile, Spiderman looked thoughtful as he cupped his chin with his thumb and pointer finger. A smile made its way to his face when she saw the exchange as he thought silently, 'It seems Hinata is too nice of a girl to actually order someone around.' He grinned before speaking again to Neji, _"Well, your clan sounds a little complicated. I mean, with the main and branch thing in your family, you'd think that it's like the era of the warring states."_

"_You could say that."_ Neji complied, shrugging his shoulders.

"_What's with that system, anyways? Can't you all be normal brothers and sisters?"_

"_I'm afraid we can't."_ Neji said, his tone opting a more sagely one as he closed his eyes and continued, _"Fate made it so."_

Yet again, these teenage ninjas made Spiderman drop an anime sweat from his forehead. To be honest, he had enough detail to make an outline of this ninja world which he first thought was filled with utter awesomeness.

They're a bunch of funny guys and girls.

Hell, if he didn't know better, they looked like some high scholars with a strange sense of fashion.

Seeing Spiderman nodding dumbly at him, Neji nodded back in reponse. As he turned around, Neji spoke up again, _"Well, I guess that's all of us. Tenten, Ino, you've both met Spiderman before, haven't you?"_

"_Yup."_ Tenten answered.

"_Then further introductions is unnecessary."_ Neji finished.

"_What? Aww, but I didn't get to tell Spiderman my likes and dislikes!"_ Tenten suddenly exclaimed, while Ino came up beside her and backed her up, _"Yeah, just because we've met him doesn't mean we already told him about ourselves."_

Neji, seemingly unfazed by the two girls pleas, asked in a nonchalant way, _"What's there to tell?"_ His question left Ino and Tenten fuming and glaring at him. Now, although Neji's a prodigy—also a darn talented Hyuuga to top it off—he couldn't understand the reason why the girls did so. But, hey, Byakugan is the (almost) All-Seeing Eye, not the All-Knowing Eye.

"_Actually I have to agree with Neji, here."_ Spiderman said, surprising everyone especially the earlier angry girls. Before anyone could put up a response, he continued, _"Not to be rude, but I've already known enough about you two."_

"_Oh really?"_ Tenten asked skeptically, her right eyebrow rising higher than the other mockingly, _"Then please do elaborate, Mr.I-Know-Much."_

"_Well, for starters,"_ Spiderman stretched his arms a bit forward, groaning as he did so, _"Kureuzu Tenten, Chuunin-level kunoichi on the same team as Neji and Lee. Likes weapons, dislikes bitchy customers."_ At Spiderman's sudden statement, Tenten blushed as she was surprised that he knew that much. Several people in the room was surprised to hear Tenten's surname, which sounded foreign in their ears. Lee, for his part, exclaimed how "youthful" Tenten's surname is. In the end, she was left stuttering about how that wasn't entirely correct, _"W-well, I don't really hate customers with an attitude. It's just that they're really annoying."_

"_Yeah, I get that a lot, too." _Ino said sympathetically. Being a fellow seller, she completely understands what Tenten was going through. Costumers who asks for an 80% discount always struck a nerve; moreso when they're old hags who insults them for not giving any.

Unknown to them, Spiderman nodded sullenly. He, himself, had felt that kind of annoyance long ago. His career as Peter Parker, freelance photographer, had met many obstacles. One of them being one newspaper director trading his pictures for small cash. Coughing, he shoved that memory away from his thoughts. 'Now is not the time to think about Jerk Jonah Jameson.' He thought.

"_Alright, moving on,"_ Spiderman continued, _"Yamanaka Ino, Chuunin-level kunoichi on the same team as Shikamaru and Chouji. Likes flowers among other things, dislikes bitchy customers."_

"_That's the same hypothesis as what you gave to Tenten!"_ Ino retorted.

"_Well, isn't it true?"_ Spiderman shot back.

"_...it is."_ All of the present ninjas sweat-dropped at the exchange. Logically speaking, all of a seller's dislike leans towards customer with an attitude, whether they want to admit it or not. Inwardly, Spiderman laughed proudly, thinking, 'Never underestimate my observational skills!' He may no be at Stephen Strange's level of sorcery, but even without magical powers Spiderman is one well-informed kind of guy.

"_Well, that's all of them. Unless there's someone else coming in, I guess that's enough."_ Spiderman said, receiving nods from all the room's occupants.

"_Wait a minute," _Sakura suddenly spoke, _"If that's the case, then that means you already knew Kakashi-sensei?"_ She pointed at the silver-haired, mask-wearing figure who was also bed-ridden on the bed next to Spiderman's; Kakashi's bed being closer to the window. As Spiderman looked to his side, preferably at Kakashi, he realized that he didn't even felt his presence there. His right eyebrow raised in curiosity, thinking about how did the silver-haired man who was reading an orange book slipped through his senses.

"_Actually, I haven't. Strange, I didn't notice someone being there."_ Spiderman said, scratching his head sheepishly.

"_Well, that's to be expected. Kakashi-sensei's presence is quite thin, after all."_ Naruto explained deductively. Meanwhile, Kakashi looked at him lazily and looked a little disappointed because of what Naruto said. _"So I have a thin presence, huh? That's new..."_ He muttered.

Spiderman this time analyzed Kakashi's description. The man—he deducted that he looks and sounded too old for a mere teen—had silver hair, spiked in a way that it went sideways and somehow defies the law of gravity as it seemed to be stiffly raised. Trailing down, Spiderman noticed that Kakashi had only hi one right eye opened while the left one was closed with a scar trailing down vertically on his eyelid. A confused frown came up to Spiderman's lips as he once again delved into his thoughts, 'That scar...I guess not all things in this ninja world is as innocent as it seems.'

His eyes once again looked at Kakashi. Now, the other thing that caught his attention was the dark blue face mask which was covering the lower part of Kakashi's face; starting from his nose down to his neck, and seems to be knitted together with his dark blue sleeveless undershirt. At the sight of Kakashi's mask, Spiderman sweat-dropped while thinking, 'That's so straight out of Mortal Kombat.' After that, Spiderman's eyes landed on the peculiar book Kakashi held. The cover had a white, faceless humanoid figure with some thinking clouds which had pictures of hearts being crossed. Unfortunately, that was all that Spiderman could decipher as the book's title was imprinted in katakana.

'Urgh, these Japs and their ridiculous hand-writing! Raibi, I'll be borrowing your eyes again!' Spiderman yelled mentally. His tenant inside his subconcious nodded while saying, **'Knock yourself out.'**

Spiderman narrowed his eyes as it transformed from brown to bright green with slits. Unbeknownst to all of the ninja present in the room, the web-slinger began scanning the book's cover.

Now, if one were to explain—in an awesomely bad-assed Terminator style—what Spiderman's mind was processing, this is the result, 'Targetting: Strange orange book. Origin unknown. Zooming...Targetting: Book's title. Warning! Foreign letters sighted. Translating...' Although on the outside, Spiderman was silent as he seemingly stared at the book (which prompted the group of Konoha Eleven to look at him like he's crazy while the girls, thinking that Spiderman is interested in the perverted book, gave him a disgusted look.), in his mind he was processing informations in a speed that made Tony Stark's Iron Man suit looks like an old computer. 'Translating complete. Result: Icha Icha Tactics. English translation report: Make-out Tactics.' At the revelation, Spiderman gave Kakashi a look that kind of resembled Barrack Obama, then proceeded to give him the 'not bad' look.

Kakashi, realizing that Spiderman was checking out his book, raised his eyebrows in surprise, _"Hmm, it seems that you noticed the book. Judging by the look you have on your face, I'd say you want to borrow it."_

"_That depends. Is the content of the book as vulgar as the title?"_ Spiderman asked. Kakashi eye-smiled at the freshly-promoted Chuunin, which was the equivalent of a smile in Kakashi's case since his mouth is covered by his face mask. _"It is, plus a set of other things."_ Now, though Kakashi said that with an innocent tone, all of the kunoichi in the room shuddered and gave him a glare. Clearly they were feeling scandalized.

"_Hmm...maybe I should—"_

"_NO! Absolutely no!"_ Sakura suddenly exclaimed, surprising Spiderman by the bluntness. _"That book is downright perverted! It's bad enough that we have __**one**__ pervert reading it, and I don't want anyone else reading that! Understand?"_

"_Err...but Sakura, that book couldn't be that bad...ne?"_

Sakura leveled a glare at Spiderman, to which he suddenly quivered at. Somehow, the glare made him feel tiny. _"Do you understand or not?"_ Sakura growled, cracking her knuckles while a dark shadow came over her back. At the scary sight, Spiderman was once again reminded how scary women could be.

"_...h-hai."_

"_Good."_ Sakura huffed. The others sweat-dropped at the scene, individually thinking about the connection between the Icha Icha Tactics book and Sakura. Actually, Sakura hates **all** of the Icha Icha series. Hell, if she ever get her hands on the author she would rip his hands off and make him eat them.

(In another place, Jiraiya sneezed. Then, he looked at his hands and felt the urge to throw up; which he did.)

"_Well, I guess I should get starting, huh?"_ Kakashi said, sighing tiredly before closing his orange book. At the exact time, something seemed to disappear from Kakashi's lone eye. Spiderman thought it was only him, but he could swear that that thing that disappeared from Kakashi's eye was his life force. Spiderman frowned, inwardly sweat-dropping again, 'Is that book of his so important to him that it almost rivals his life's importance?'

"_Hmm, how should I start? My name is Kakashi. Hatake Kakashi, to be exact. I'm Team 7's Jounin team leader as well as their sensei."_

"_Oh, I see. So Yamato-taichou really is just a stand-in."_ Spiderman said. He unconciously sat straighter; meeting Naruto's team leader had somehow made him a little nervous, and the fact that Kakashi looks mysterious didn't help.

Kakashi eye-smiled at Spiderman, something that the American hero thought he should get used to that miniscule gesture of friendliness. Then, as Kakashi felt several eyes looking at him, he opened his right eye and realized that several, if not all, teenage ninjas looking at him expectantly. Naruto and Sakura, in particular, looked with starry eyes as the blond then said, _"Kakashi-sensei, remember! Likes and dislikes!"_

The silver-haired Jounin looked at Naruto helplessly. Somehow, his eyes conveyed the message just so, because just by looking at his right eye anyone could tell that he wasn't prepared for that. However, Kakashi prevailed, and eventually spoke up again, _"Hmm...likes and dislike, huh? Well, I like a lot of things, and I don't particularly dislike anything."_

The combination of the following sweat-drop that the other ninjas produced—Spiderman included—could rejuvenate the Sahara desert to the point it'll be turned into a rainforest. Well, metaphorically speaking, anyway.

Naruto sighed disappointedly, mentally groaning while thinking, _'I guess some things won't change...'_

Sakura's sigh soon followed, coincidentally continuing Naruto's thoughts, _'In the end, all we get to know is...'_

Somehow, Spiderman's thought was also coincidentally a continuation of Sakura's though; thus, if drawn comically, forming a connected thinking bubble, 'JUST HIS FREAKING NAME!'

"_Well, now since that's been taken care of..."_ Kakashi muttered lazily, flipping open his orange *cough*perverted*cough* novel and continued reading it where he left off. Spiderman's eye twitched at the sudden change of situation. He couldn't even begin to understand why people like this are selected to be ice-cold, cold-blooded, blood-bathing (enough with the Shiritori, already!) ninjas. Damn, not even Tony Stark is this much of a pervert.

"_You guys...are not what I expected you to be, honestly."_ Spiderman admitted.

"_Well, what exactly do you expect? Being unexpected is what we ninjas do."_ Sakura said, looking at Spiderman incredulously. Spiderman sighed; the fact remains that he couldn't get an actual picture of the ninjas he has allied himself with. _"Still, that doesn't explain about you guys. Heck, the closest idea of ninjas I had in mind resembles Kakashi; and that's minus the pervy book in his hands!"_

"_Exactly how do you picture ninjas in your mind? I'm getting kind of curious as well."_ Tenten suddenly pointed out.

"_It's not just me. Every other people in my nation, heck, the whole dang world thinks you all as ice-cold, mask-wearing mercenaries."_ Spiderman explained, stressing the point about being mask-wearing mercenaries boldly. He then huffed, _"The more I think of it, the more I believe that I'm the actual ninja here. What, with me wearing a mask and all, Japs would recruit me in their ninja battalion had I been born in the era of warring states."_

There was a pause. At first, Spiderman thought that they were looking thoughtful after hearing his statement. Instead, when he looked at the teenage ninjas, all he got were blank looks and blinks of surprise. Suddenly, Lee raised his right hand as he seemed wanting to say something, _"Uh, if I may, Spiderman...although it's youthful of you to think yourself as a ninja because you said you're wearing a mask, the youthful fact is you're not."_

"_What?"_ Spiderman let out.

"_You're not wearing your mask."_ Ino answered.

"_Come again?"_

"_FOR KAMI'S SAKE, JUST LOOK AT A MIRROR OR SOMETHING!"_ Sakura shoved a mirror with a handle towards Spiderman's chest, receiving a surprised grunt from the man. Glaring at the pink-haired girl for doing that (remember, he's still wounded, and his wounds are heaviest at the chest area.), he grumpily raised the mirror in his right hand's grip. He half-expected to have a reflection of his triangular-eyed Spiderman mask to look back at him, to which he would be grateful, if not a bit annoyed that he was being trolled at.

Sadly, or fortunately, depending on your point of view, what he saw wasn't the reflection of his Spiderman mask, at all.

He saw himself. From the dark, lazy brown hair, the brown eyes, the pointed nose, the gaping mouth which was held in place by surprise...it's all his. Well, it all belongs to Peter Parker, to be precise. As Peter raised his hand to his face, disbelievingly caressing his cheek and his eyes widened in shock, all he could let out...well, he didn't let anything out in the instant per se; rather, he sat there as if frozen.

Eventually, Peter laughed dryly, gaining confused looks from the other occupants. As his laugh receeded, Peter spoke up again, _"Reeaal funny guys. You think I would be so easily tricked by placing a picture of a face on the mirror? I think not. And that's a rather similar face to mine, as well..."_

Just how dumb does this guys gets?

That thought passed through the minds of the inner circle of team 7; Naruto and Sakura, to be precise. The others...well they thought the same thing, too. Sakura suddenly looked annoyed if the nerve popping on her temples means anything, then grabbed the mirror out of Peter's hands. She then proceeded to yell at him, _"You think it's a trick? This is real, and you're really unmasked! And even if it __**was**__ a trick, how could we make a perfect copy of your face without knowing how you actually look like?"_

Peter's face stayed blank for a moment, making everybody think that he was losing in this banter. When he did speak up, he put his right fist on his left palm as if he just realized something, _"Point taken."_ Then suddenly, he face-palmed, _"Well, dang it, I guess I am unmasked."_

The others sweat-dropped seeing Peter's anti-climactic reaction. After an awkward silence, Naruto voiced his curious thoughts that has been going through his mind throughout said silence, _"So...that's it? Just like that?"_

"_Just like...what?"_

"_THAT! JUST LIKE THAT! So you're gonna take you being unmasked just like that? I thought you'd be angry."_

Peter shrugged, _"Well, what happened, happened. I can't change that. Just one question though, who unmasked me? Oh, oh, and where's my mask? I'm a bit over-possessive about my belongings, so I would like to take it sooner than later."_

Naruto flinched visibly. When he noticed that everyone had their attention on him because of that flinch, he looked at his lap with his fists clenching. Everyone—safe for Sakura and Sai—looked confused and wondered what is wrong with the blond-haired Uzumaki. In the background, Hinata looked concerned by Naruto's reaction. There was a look of distraught that crossed his face just now, and even though she didn't have her Byakugan activated, she could see that.

Eventually, Naruto opened his mouth and talked, _"I...I did. I took off your mask."_ He looked up at Peter who had a confused look on his face, _"I took it off when you were injured after fighting Sasuke."_

"_Ah, that time when I was unconcious, huh?"_ Peter inquired.

Naruto just nodded, _"Sakura-chan was healing you, but your mask was making you hard to breath. I had no other option but to tear it off so that you could breathe properly."_ Naruto was expecting Peter to hit him, yell at him, or at the very least look at him in disappointment. He knew what the risks of taking a hero's mask are. However, that time was not one to think about risks. Peter's live was in danger, and the only way to save him was to take off his mask.

But now that he's safe, and the truth being inquired, Naruto didn't know whether he could be forgiven or not.

"_Really, now? Heh..."_

Naruto blinked. That wasn't the reaction he was expecting. Peter didn't seem angry at all; rather, he looked...well, Naruto can't describe it clearly, but Peter was grinning playfully at him. _"You should've let Sakura take off my mask. Letting a guy take off my mask is like letting a guy take off my clothes, and I'm proud to tell you that I'm straight and I'd like to keep it that way."_

Eyebrows raised in amusement, blushes travelled upwards to the girls' cheeks, and a laugh came from one Inuzuka Kiba, _"Man, I told you that this guy is cool!"_

"_Wha...you're not mad?" _Naruto asked to Spiderman.

"_Mad? Why should I be? Unless of course, you did something funny when you take off my mask, if you catch my drift."_ The joke caused Kiba's laughter to return. Naruto looked at Peter in surprise and shock, while Sakura just stared at him with an interested look on her face. She, too, thought that Peter would be angry that they took off his mask without his permission. Suddenly, she formed a question in her mind, _"Wait a minute. You're not angry that we took off your mask without your permission? I thought you need it to cover your identity. And don't all of the Avengers make a great deal out of it?"_

"_To answer your questions, Sakura,"_ Peter cleared his throat to add effect, _"Not all of the Avengers wear masks, though the majority of us do. And about me getting angry at you for taking off my mask...well, I'm just not."_

"_But why?"_ Sakura asked again.

"_We super-heroes do make a great deal out of covering our identity, because we have to protect our precious ones from our enemies. If they ever know who we are, they'd target our families first, then our friends and so on."_ Spiderman explained, proudly giving himself a mental pat on the back for finally speaking for all the super-heroes, or the majority of them, at least.

"_Then why?"_ Suddenly, Sakura stood up from her chair, nearly knocking it over, _"Why trust us, a group of people you don't even know? How could you trust strangers like us when we have the probability to become your enemies?"_

Beside her, still seated, Naruto blinked in surprise. He, too, was confused to why Spiderman was a little too carefree about his face being exposed, but Sakura's reaction was unexpected. Why was she asking these things? Why say that they could be Spiderman's enemies? And what's with the raised tone she used?

Surprisingly, however, Peter didn't retaliate. Instead, he grinned widely. Perhaps he is amused by the sight of Sakura's distressed face, or perhaps he noticed something strange that Sakura had said. Anyhow, he just grinned at the pink-head, prompting to catch her off-guard. Peter then spoke up, _"But, Sakura, you're not strangers. None of you are."_

"_What?"_

"_You see, at first, I have my doubts about having you all see my face. People...bad people had seen my face one time too many."_ The American shook his head before laughing lightly, _"But you, all of you, gave me your names so readily. Not only that, but even your personal information. Try to think it like this; has it ever occured to you that by giving me your names and affiliation I might use it and turn against you?"_

At the revelation, silence ensued. Truth is, no one did. Part of it was because Spiderman is a well-known hero, and him being the bad-guy type is near impossible to them; but that is no excuse. In the end, for the ninjas—excluding Naruto, Sakura and Sai—Spiderman is the stranger. Heck, Ino and Tenten didn't even know him that well.

"_N-no..."_ Sakura let out, feeling her energy leaving her.

"_Exactly. In the end, letting you see my real face is the least I can do in exchange for your trust."_ Peter paused. During that pause, he looked a little solemn as he smiled a bit. Unbeknownst to anyone but himself, Peter was reminiscing his past memories. The ones he was looking back at was the ones of his younger days, when all he knew and came to believe was taught by his aunt, May Parker.

Yes, if it wasn't for the diligent old woman, Peter wouldn't be who he is.

"_Thank you for that. And, just to let you know, I trust you enough to let you see my face; so explain to me how I should be mad again."_ Peter said, making Sakura fall silent and slowly backed down on her seat. She was dumbstruck; how could someone be so trusting with another, to the point where that someone would entrust his secret to a group of strangers? And she wasn't the only one being amazed. Kakashi, in particular, now had his eyes looking curiously at the brunnete.

In general, all eyes were on Peter now.

A warm feeling came over the room. A feeling of gratitude, one that spread its warmth throughout everyone's body. To them, for someone like the amazing Spiderman to trust them that much...it's an honor.

Ino, feeling daring, shot a question of her own, _"Then, do you trust us enough to tell us your name?"_

Aaand that warm feeling went down the drain as the room's temperature dropped. Glares were sent at Ino, Sakura's being more prominent as she hissed at the blonde girl, _"Ino! That's taking it too far! We should be grateful that he let us see his face."_ Ino's face dropped in disappointment. She suddenly felt guilty for even daring to ask such a question. She couldn't help it; cute guys tend to make her more interested.

"_It's okay, Sakura, don't blame her for being curious."_ Peter smiled at Ino, who blushed in that instant. Peter's eyes suddenly widened, as if he realized something. He then spoke up again, this time with an excited smile, _"You know what? I think telling my name is a wish to be granted, after all!"_

"_Y-you mean..."_ Ino stuttered.

"_Yup! So, uh...how do we do it, err, likes and dislikes too, right?"_

Now, if anyone was surprised before, they were utterly shell-shocked now. Not only he was okay with them seeing his face, but now he wants to tell his name? His **real** name, by the way?

Naruto frowned, _"Are you...really okay with that?"_

In turn, Peter smiled, _"Of course! We're all friends here, aren't we? I trust you enough to at least know my name. That is, unless you're a super-villain bent on destroying my entire life..."_

"_NO!"_ The entire room shook. Peter smirked; it seemed that he now had their attention. It was amusing how they are so curious about his identity. Usually, he doesn't give out names, not his real one. But something about them made him feel comfortable. It made him feel...welcome. And for that alone, he'd give up his identity. Hell, if the members of team 7 risked their lives to save him before, telling his real identity pales in comparison.

"_Alrighty, then. How should I begin...?"_ Peter rubbed his hands together, which ceased the next second he talked again, _"My name is Peter Parker, amateur photographer, and a member of the Avengers. My codename is Spiderman, for those who haven't known about it. My likes are web-slinging, going out with my pals, and kicking major butt! My dislikes are super-villains who hurt my precious people, and flying gliders."_

"_Flying wha?" _A confused Naruto let out.

"_Trust me, you'll hate it when you see it, too."_

The room exploded in laughter. Some of them were reserved chuckles, others...not so reserved, at all. There was an unexplainable happiness that overcame them all when Peter gave the introduction. What that is? Like I said, it's unexplainable. But the teenage ninjas didn't take the matter so seriously. In any case, they were happy. Eventually, a grin formed on Peter's face. He, too, felt that warmth of unexplainable happiness. Somehow, after telling them his identity, he felt a weight lifted off of his shoulder. If it wasn't for his injuries, he was sure he'd do cartwheels around the room. Fortunately, Lee has done it for him.

As the day progressed, that warm feeling didn't disappear. So warm was the feeling, that it somehow affected the sky.

Yes...as a rainbow formed after a heavy rain, everyone basked in its radiance.

End of Chapter 25

**xoxoxo**

**If anyone finds the chapter a bit corny and rushed, trust me, so do I. I'm not really cut out for writing dramatic scenes, just as I'm not actually talented in writing about emotions with inexplicable depth.**

**...okay, that sounded too much like Sai.**

**Sakura: Damn right. What was holding you for the update, anyway? I knew you were slow, but I didn't know that you're a freaking snail!  
>Me: So mean...TT_TT I was on holiday to Australia when I wrote this, and the freaking hotels didn't give any free wifi's. Freaking guys even try to charge anything miniscule, like watching a movie!<br>Sakura: Good thing I'm Asian.  
>Me: Correction. You're an Asian cartoon.<br>Sakura: Grrhh! Why you-!**

**Now, before Sakura kills me for telling her what she really is, let me close this chapter first. Err, how should I do this? Oh, yeah! Keep tuning in, and R&R!**

**Sakura: COME HERE!  
>Me: GYAAA! Help me, somebody~!<strong>

**1) **_**Gaijin**_**: It literally translates into "stranger". I read in a book that this word is used as a harsh calling for a stranger, but I think all Japanese in general might've used this word for every stranger. And since Spidey IS a stranger, so Kakashi called him so.**

**P.S: If anyone's wondering about Spidey's new seal, I'll be starting to make a drawing of it later. Don't expect anything epic, though, since the app I'm gonna use is Paint. Freaking PAINT which doesn't really gives so much thought in putting drawings into HD quality.**


	27. Chapter 26

**If **_**Kagebunshin no Jutsu**_** really exist, I'd really like to use it right now. That way, I can continue juggling all of my stories with no problem TT-TT I knew I shouldn't write too much different stories AT THE SAME TIME. One laptop doesn't seem to suffice to write three stories simultaneously, and the beating Sakura gave me last chapter broke my pinkie...**

**Sakura: Oh, shush it, you; I already healed it. Even if I didn't, having a broken pinkie won't hinder your writing.  
>Me: Bu-but my nose sometimes feel itchy, and I have to scratch it with my pinkie. Here, like this! *stabs pinkie into nose*<br>Sakura: YOU'RE JUST PICKING YOUR NOSE! EWW, GROSS!  
>Naruto: Aww, come on, Sakura-chan. It may seem gross, but it's really helpful to clean our nose holes. Here, look! *stabs pinkie into nose*<br>Sakura: EWW!  
>Me: Naruto...I couldn't be prouder.<br>Naruto: Thanks man! *bumps bro fist with SpinLord***

**Anyhow, now that that's taken care of, and Sakura's out of the room in utter grossness, let's start this chapter! **

**...well, this is it. The final chapter. Enjoy!**

**Disc,: I don't own Naruto and/or Spiderman. If I do, I would make it so that either Naruto plays in Kung Fu Panda utilizing Fox style Kung Fu or that Peter actually bite a spider rather than the other way around, just for fun's sake, and turn into Manspider as how the two guys from Smosh pictured it :D**

**xoxoxo**

**Chapter 26**

I am a Shinobi of Konohagakure!  
>The Arachnid's Goodbye Parade!<p>

"_What do you MEAN no ramen?!"_

Once again, the nurse shook her head while sighing tiredly, _"It literally means just that; no ramen. You're hospitalized, and the only thing we give to our patients are liquid to semi-solid health foods."_

"_But ramen is liquid!"_ The patient retorted.

"_Its soup is. But regardless, its an unhealthy choice of food."_ The nurse countered.

The patient, which revealed to be a brunette, looked at the nurse incredulously. He frowned, looking a tad bit too serious for a not-so-serious matter like this, _"No offense, miss...Yoshino?"_ The male patient blinked suddenly. For a moment, he seemed to look thoughtful and looked like he was deep in his thoughts, as if remembering something. Not so long after that, however, he cleared his throat as he continued,_ "But I've seen a patient that had nothing but ramen in his belly, and he's damn healthy."_ The brunette's eyes hardened considerably as he continued, _"He even had ramen while he was hospitalized! If he could, why can't I?!"_

The nurse sighed again. Really, for whatever wrong-doings she had done, the Hokage has stationed her in Patient Room #30 to look after this...exuberant patient which looks healthy enough to **not** stay hospitalized. Still, orders are orders, moreso if it came directly from the Hokage herself. _"Trust me, I know which patient you're talking about, and that kid is an exception. He got the stomach for it. No wait, to be exact, his abdominal circulatory only accepts ramen. So to give him something else would be risky."_ The nurse shrugged, _"Or at least that's what Hokage-sama had said once."_

"_Jeez...why does he gets all the good stuff?"_ The brown-haired patient muttered.

"_Having a nurse looking after you all-time is, actually, a 'good stuff', if you haven't noticed."_ The nurse said, pouting while looking at her clipboard. Every now and then she would scribble something on it, which was actually the overall health that her patient has regained that is visible on the outside. Since there was no more problem with his insides, all the nurse needed to check were his outer injuries and traumas; which were non-existent. If she wasn't wearing her white nurse hat, she'd scratch the back of her head in confusion. It was rare that someone had a healing factor at this level; the only other one she has ever heard having it being that "other" ramen-loving kid.

"_But I don't need to be looked after!"_ The paitent complained again, his eyes shut as he cried out in frustration, _"I NEED RAMEN!"_

"_And you will have ramen, if you would just sit tight and let me take notes of your recovery. Understood?"_ The nurse glanced at her clipboard, preferably her patient's identity, _"Mr. Paruka?"_

"_That's why I'm telling you people. It's PARKER!"_

"_That's what I said."_ The nurse patiently said. She then muttered under breath, _"This is really the worst."_

The brunette, now identified as Peter Parker, grumbled lowly on the bed while crossing his arms, sulking. Really, do these people really need to mess up with his surname? He already told them all it's Peter freaking Parker, for crying out loud! He could tolerate the reversed name-positioning since that's how Japanese refer their names, and all in all he was glad that their foreign tongue could actually spell "Peter" quite well. Still..._Paruka_ is such a lame name. What kind of lame-assed idiot would have THAT kind of name? Heck, even Tenten's foreign surname sounded cool.

He could still remember how the Rookie 9 guys and Team 9's members tried to spell his name right. What an embarassing experience...

**xoxoFlashback Time Machinexoxo**

"_Aww, man..."_ Peter groaned. In front of him, Naruto was holding a ripped, torned, battle-ravaged version of the Spiderman costume. There were holes and rips everywhere...it more or less looked like a piece of clothing a hobo would use. _"I've worked freaking weeks-turned-month for that costume! Just what the hell happened to it?!"_

"_I would've asked the same thing to you."_ Naruto sighed, his right hand going through one of the holes of the Spiderman costume just to test how big the hole is, _"Sasuke's done pretty good at wrecking your costume. And after your, uh..."_ Naruto paused. He couldn't actually blurt out about the transformation Spiderman had underwent back then; that particular detail about Peter being a Jinchuuriki being left out because Peter wasn't ready to tell anyone, yet. So Naruto had to choose his words carefully, _"After your power-up, it kind of shredded."_

"_That's...unfortunate."_ Peter let out. He face-palmed and groaned aloud again, _"Aunt May's gonna kill me if she ever find out about this."_

"_You're thinking too much. There's no way your aunt could kill you; one, she's too old for that, two, she loves her nephew too much for that."_ Naruto said, trying to calm Peter down.

"_You don't know how strong she really is."_ Peter muttered, _"And how much skill she has with an umbrella."_

No shit, Aunt May really kicked ass with her umbrella. Last time, she knocked Doc Ock's glasses off his face with a swing of her umbrella (and taking in the fact that Ock had four metal limbs for extra defense and offense, that's saying much). Granted, attacking the super-villain from behind is underhanded, but hey, she's just an old woman.

Sakura sighed. She rubbed her temple tiredly; for Kami knows why Peter seemed more upset about HIMSELF tearing off his COSTUME rather than THEM taking off his MASK. There isn't any logical explanation for that, unfortunately, _"Oh, come on. Just be happy that you're still alive and in one piece, rather than in pieces."_

"_I...guess."_ Peter said, somehow looking a little downcast as he took the costume from Naruto and put it on his lap. Seriously, he looked like a mother elephant looking at its dead baby which was killed by an ivory-seeker. This sight had the rest of the ninjas sweat-dropping, as they could literally picture the gloomy aura Peter was emanating.

Determined to lighten up the mood, Naruto decided to change the subject, _"So, your real name is Peter?"_

Peter blinked in surprise. The way Naruto pronounced his name was...unexpectedly quite fluent, actually. That's actually pretty surprising, taking in the fact that their mother-language is Japanese. He half-expected them to pronounce it _"Peeta"_ at the very least, but then he face-palmed, 'No...not that dude from Hunger Games...'

Peter cleared his throat, _"Yup. Been so since forever, I guess."_

The others looked at him in awe. Some girls had their mouths opened in what Peter deduced as admiration. Once again, the Spiderman sweat-dropped, 'Seriously, what're they being awed by?'

'**I'd put my money in your name, if I had any.'** Raibi answered in his mind.

'But seriously, Peter is a common name. If they're this awed by such a name, I wonder how they would react if they hear some more unique names, like Stephen, Logan and Matt.'

'**In my opinion, Matt sounds...dull.'**

'Tell that to the guy himself, if you dare. The guy's a freaking attorney, and it's still in his jurisdiction to put your furry ass in jail for insulting him.' Peter scowled.

'**On what charges?'** Raibi inquired, a tad bit interested at this human political topic.

'Indirect assault on a law enforcer.'

'**Ah.'**

"_..ter. Oi, Peter, you listening?"_ Naruto called. Peter, having being caught staring blankly at his blanket while he was in a conversation with his Bijuu, shook his head and smiled sheepishly at Naruto, _"Uh, sorry about that. Kind of blanking out there. You were saying?"_

Naruto sighed. It seems that Peter really wasn't comfortable enough to tell the others about him housing a Bijuu inside him. Naruto was sure that the web-slinger was really talking with Raibi, since the same kind of spacing out happened to Naruto everytime he was talking (or, in his case, arguing) with Kyuubi. _"I was saying that your last name sounded funny."_

"_Funny? Uh...did you mean good funny or bad funny?"_

"_Funny as in sounded like a lame comedian with a low payroll!"_ Kiba suddenly butted in. Peter had now know of the fact that he was terrified of, to say the least. Kiba is LOUDER than Naruto! And the fang-tattooed boy tends to say things without thinking. Now, Peter appreciated good spontaneous humor every now and then, but Kiba's spontanity is at the level where he'd be King of the Stand-up Comedies.

"_Err...I don't really think 'Parker' sounds lame or poor."_ Peter said, scratching his cheek while chuckling slightly. However, he was confused when Kiba suddenly erupted in laughter as if Peter had just told him a joke about a bottle of ketchup and an _ikea_ kitchen table (err, that kind of joke doesn't exist. So don't try to search for it in Google).

"_See! Like that! You were, like, PAA-RUU-KAA..."_ Kiba...actually made faces while he mouthed that last part. Peter's right eye twitched after hearing the lame name, _"No, I wasn't. Like I said, it's Parker."_

"_Uh...that's actually what Kiba was saying, Peter."_ Sakura pointed out, looking a little puzzled by Peter's answer, _"And that's what you said, too. Paruka."_

Peter just sat there, silent, with both of his hand raised to his head and his face looking like Jackie Chan giving the 'WTF' look (9Gaggers, you know that look). He growled inwardly, mentally shouting out questions like, 'Just what the freaking hell? I already told them it's Parker! Why don't they see that?'

On cue, Raibi leaned forward to the bars of his cage and looked incredulously at the web-slinging Jinchuuriki, **'What are you going on about?'**

'The guys can't say Parker! Instead, they somehow made some messed up translation and turns it into Paruka. I mean, come on, man! _Paruka Peter_?! Which doujinshi does that name came from, anyways?' Peter rambled.

'**Errh...damn, how should I explain this? Okay, you know what? I'll explain it from the start.'** Raibi said, acting as if he was being pressured to do something; which he wasn't, **'You remember when you first talk in Japanese? That time with those two gate guards?'**

Peter was silent as he nodded in response, urging Raibi to continue, **'Well, actually I've used a language-translating seal both on your tongue and your brain. In which, every time you speak your tongue will automatically translate it into Japanese.'**

'Hold on. Just before our previous mission I've talked to Logan, and I used English.' Peter pointed out. Raibi has the answer for that, and so he explained, **'Let me finish. The seals on both your tongue and your brain will automatically translates whatever you think of into Japanese IF you wished it to. Meaning, if you want to talk in Japanese, you just form the words in your brain and will your brain to change it into Japanese, then your tongue will do the rest. If you just want to talk in English, that means you don't will your brain to do the translation. Get it?'**

'I see...' Peter exhaled, cupping his chin in thought, 'That's pretty handy, actually. Thanks for that, Raibi. Honestly, I don't want to waste my time learning Japanese. I assume you did the same with my ears?'

Raibi nodded solemnly, **'For your ears, I've placed it around your eardrums. That way, every Japanese words you hear, your eardrums will capture it and the seal will activate, notifying the other seal in your brain to translate it.'** The blue wolf paused. In between the silence, Peter raised his head curiously and wondered what was Raibi thinking that he paused for so long. Eventually, the nine-tailed wolf talked again, **'However, it seems that I've made a slight error.'**

'Which is...?'

'**Though I've put a Japanese-English translator seal in your ear, the translator seal I've put on your tongue is an English-Japanese translator seal.'**

'What difference does it make?'

'**You said it before that those brats called you Paruka, correct?'** Raibi asked, to which Peter complied, **'Well, they wouldn't say so if you didn't tell them that your name is spelled as such.'** Peter's eyes squinted in confusion. Raibi's words were too riddly for him to comprehend that easily. He couldn't blame the Bijuu, though; being caged by Madam Web has its effects. Her talks are also riddly.

'I still don't get it.'

Raibi sighed, **'Idiot. Look, when you said "Parker", what you hear in your ears are still "Parker", right?'** Peter nodded, **'Now, when THEY say "Paruka", you hear "Paruka", right?'** Again, the hero nodded, **'Now, think about it. When YOU say "Parker", did they say they hear "Parker"?'**

'Well, no, they say that I said—" Peter's eyes widen in realization.

'**Yes.' **Raibi raised a finger and pointed it towards Peter dramatically, which in turn turned on a dramatic music that somehow resounded throughout Peter's subconciousness, **'When you say "Parker", you unknowingly say "Paruka" because of the English-Japanese translator seal on your tongue! But because of the Japanese-English translator seal in your ear, it's still recognized as "Parker", moreover because your brain still registered that you meant to say "Parker". So back then, you've introduced yourself as **_**Paruka Peter**_**!'**

The dramatic music continued. Peter's eyes were wider than bowls and at that time, he was sure he was having a heart-attack. All of that coolness of his introduction...all of that...went down the drain just because he spelled his name wrong. So much lose!

'FUUUUUUUUU—!'

After that last cry, Peter's mental image disappeared, meaning that he had returned back to the concious world. The stress might've gotten to him and thus cancelled his mental form. Raibi just looked at the spot where his Jinchuuriki was in pity. He felt sympathy for the web-slinger, because even in his opinion the name 'Paruka' sucks like hell.

Suddenly, he felt his chakra seep out a bit in a form of miasma. That miasma spun around and transformed into his chakra counterpart, Nega-Spiderman. However, Nega-Spiderman was...behaving strangely. There wasn't any crazed shouts, no insane cries, and no cursing coming out of his mouth. Raibi was further confused when Nega-Spiderman asked him shakily, _**'D-DiD oU-sAmA jUsT...h-hOwLeD?'**_

Now this is interesting. Nega-Spiderman always shown resentments towards Peter. To see him this frightened when he mentioned his supposed ruler was...moving. **'He didn't howl, per se. But I think that cry of his was from the bottom of his soul.' **Then, Raibi grinned proudly, **'To think that his voice is that effective against you, even though that wasn't a howl. Now, I wonder, what if he actually learns to howl as you requested?'**

Nega-Spiderman flinched a little. Silence ensued for a moment before that crazy laugh of his shook the entire subconcious realm, _**'hAhAhAhAhA! weLL, iF hE dOeS, tHeN oUr aWaiTEd fiGHt wiLL bE oNe HeCkUVa bLAsT!'**_

Just like that, Nega-Spiderman then transformed back into miasma before merging back into Raibi's body. However, unlike last time, the blue wolf now held a grin on his face. His green eyes gleamed in excitement, before he chuckled out, **'Agreed. He does have the potential. Perhaps...you will someday accept him.'**

Meanwhile in the real world, throughout the whole mental conversation with Raibi, Peter was making some funny faces; some which were a mixture of confusion and annoyance, while others...I'd rather not describe (since I actually can't). And all that time, the Konoha nins were watching with amusement as Peter's facial changes were as drastic as the temperature in the Sahara desert.

The next day after that little incident wasn't any better for Peter. Members of team 7, including Yamato, frequently visited the hospital; specifically his and Kakashi's room. Sai's reasoning for the visits was because he somehow wanted to "rekindle broken bonds", whatever that means. That, and he wanted to finish his painting of Peter and Kakashi in the hospital room. Peter didn't actually mind; heck, he didn't mind at all, as long as that painting doesn't give out gay warnings.

Sakura's reasoning was pretty normal; she just wanted to make daily checks on him and her sensei. Kakashi's recovering well, according to her, and he would be up and kicking by the day after that. Peter's check-up was unexpected, though, as he was still far from being in his a-hundred-percent self; at least his chakra system is. There was a slight shift in his chakra circulatory system, Sakura had said; something about it being completely different from the one before his seal changed, that it now resembled more like that of a real shinobi.

Naruto, however...well, he had little to none reasoning under his sleeve. He was pretty much just tagging along. Although, Peter had this angry feeling every time the blond-haired kid brought ramen from Ichiraku's with him when he visited. When the web-slinger tried to take a bite from Naruto's take-away bowl, Sakura stopped him saying that ramen is unappropriate for recovering patients.

(That reminded him, he had this exact squabble again with this nurse who is nursing him in the present time; and it pretty much ended up the same.)

In the end, team 7 visits were fun, at the very least. It could've been better if Naruto didn't bring that bowl of ramen and oh-so-mockingly eat it in front of him! The only interesting thing that happened in their visits was the talk Naruto had with Kakashi.

So, this one day, Naruto, Sakura and Sai were on their daily visit. Sakura was carrying a book with her, donning her casual clothes which consisted of a yellow t-shirt under her usual red vest and a navy-blue skirt. Naruto and Sai were also wearing casual clothing; the former wearing a pair of black t-shirt with an orange swirl on the front and his usual pair of orange pants, while Sai wore a black shirt with equally black pants. Kakashi called them—specifically Naruto—and began asking question about their previous mission.

Naruto told him about it. All the details about how strong Sasuke has already become, and how far below they are compared to him. Sakura added her two cents by pointing out that Sasuke's growth in strength isn't normal, that he might be using drugs or steroids of some kind that she didn't know about. Knowing Kabuto, anything is quite achieveable.

However, Kakashi had a solution. He said that it fits Naruto...no, that only Naruto can do this method. In a way, Naruto might even get stronger than Kakashi after training with this particular method. Before he could elaborate about what secret method he has found out, Asuma's team—team 8—came in through the door, lead by Asuma himself.

"_Yoo, Kakashi! How's your injuries?"_ The bearded man said. Beside him, Ino was scolding him about entering without knocking, which was inappropriate. Peter was caught off-guard by the team's sudden entrance, moreso by the team's leader who's beard resembled that of Wolverine's.

Peter's eyes, as usual, observed the man carefully. The man had black, spiky hair which stood high. His beard, as inspected previously, resembled that of Wolverine; in which his hair and beard fused together at the sides of his face, preferably his jawline, giving him a goatee look. His eyes looked a little...beady, though that doesn't mean he looked old. The man was wearing the usual Jonin attire complete with the green vest, but what caught Peter's eyes was the sash Asuma wore around his waist. It's nothing fancy; just a white sash which looked more like table cloth with a kanji for 'fire' on it imprinted in red (Peter used Raibi's eyes again to register what does that kanji translates into). He wore his Konoha forehead protector on his forehead. Overall, he looked pretty normal.

"_Oh, it's you, Asuma. Fancy meeting you here."_ Kakashi said in a bored tone.

Asuma laughed, _"You could at least act excited about me paying a visit."_ His eyes then drifted to the other patient beside Kakashi, which is Peter. His right eyebrow raised in curiosity before he cracked a grin, _"So this is the super-popular idol Ino was talking about." _He said to himself.

"_Idol?"_ Peter sweat-dropped; Ino really need to lay down on this 'fan-girl' attitude, which was really creeping him out. He's not an idol, whatsoever. In the background, Ino was fidgeting nervously while scratching the back of her head sheepishly. 'Sometimes, I have a hard time accepting that these guys are ninjas.' Peter thought.

Long story short, Asuma and Kakashi talked for a bit while Ino stepped closer to Sakura; probably planning to have a girl talk. At that time, it seems that Sai was getting along pretty good with the members of team 10, particularly Chouji. There was the usual introduction, plus the apology Sai gave for the incident when they first met him. Though Chouji looked okay with it, Shikamaru looked a little skeptical. Perhaps he's still suspicious about Sai; that, or he didn't get enough sleep. Around that time, Ino began asking questions to Sakura, but she was too quiet for anyone else except Sakura to hear her.

Fortunately, they were in front of Peter's bed, so he could eavesdrop on their discussion. _"Eeeh...that Sai guy is pretty cool. Kinda resembles Sasuke, in a way."_ Ino whispered excitedly. Peter silently snorted, thankful that no one noticed him eavesdropping. Ino has no idea how different Sai is from Sasuke.

Then he heard Sakura said, _"From the outside? Maybe. But inside he's really different and can be a total jerk."_

'Thank you, Sakura, for bringing Ino back from the dark side.' Peter mused jokingly. It's not that he hates Sai, no sir, it's just that people need to know Sai's personality—which is pretty much null and void—before getting to know the person himself.

Some time after that, another person came in. It was a woman, Peter noted, with long dark brown hair and stunning red eyes. Her attire was...unique, to say the least. Ignoring the same way of the forehead protector usage which was the same as Asuma—which was on her forehead—she wore what seemed to be clothing made of bandages that somehow was enough to cover her curvaceous figure. Peter blinked, mentally questioning himself why he was unconciously checking the woman out. He suspected a certain dark side corrupting his mind, and he scowled, 'Leave it to Nega-me to take my perverted side to the extreme.'

"_Ah, so here you are."_ The woman said, walking inside while closing the door behind her. Peter looked around, confused to who this woman is referring to. As he looked around, he noticed that the teenage ninjas in that room was as confused as him. Kakashi spoke up, _"Kurenai, huh? What's up?"_

The woman, Kurenai, smiled at Kakashi in greeting, _"I just heard that Asuma is here."_

Asume looked at Kurenai seriously. The other teenagers were still looking at the exchange curiously, wondering why Kurenai, Jounin team leader of team 8, is looking for Asuma. Kakashi just gave a bored response, as usual, _"Hmm...oh well. Asuma, about what you wanted to talk about?"_

However, Asuma stood up before he could answer Kakashi's question, _"Uh, sorry Kakashi. I'll ask you some other time. Guys, why don't you go to Yakiniku Q? It's lunchtime, and I'm sure you're all starving. Just put it in my tab and I'll pay for it later."_ And just like that, he walked out of the room with Kurenai, leaving a confused and slightly amused Kakashi staring at the door.

While Chouji yelled out, _"YEAAH! YAKINIKU!"_ Ino was giggling to herself. On the outside, she was saying, _"Good idea!"_ But inside, she was thinking that this is a chance to get closer to the 'cool' Sai. Sai has no idea that there's a plan devised behind this, so he just put on his usual smile. Naruto looked on with starry eyes and a drooling mouth at the sound of yakiniku. Sure, it's no ramen, but it came close as second best. Sakura herself looked pleased. Shikamaru, well...he looked like he could use a nap.

Kakashi, however, was deep in thought, _'Something must've caught his interest so much that he left his students here...'_ Kakashi thought.

"_Ano...Kakashi-san?"_ Peter tried.

Breaking out of his musing, Kakashi turned his head and looked at Peter with his lone eye, _"Hm? What is it?"_

"_Asuma-san and that Kurenai-san...are they, you know?"_ Peter whispered to avoid anyone else hearing him, bringing up his pinky finger, _"An item?"_

Kakashi's bored expression turned into that of surprise. Not much people knew about Asuma and Kurenai's relationship. Even in the older Jounin circle, it's pretty much a secret. Only Asuma's closest friends—Kakashi and Gai, to name a few—knew about it. For a complete stranger to realize it...

"_Is it that obvious?"_

"_The way he suddenly left when she got here and admits that she was looking for him? If they're not an item, then I'm positive Kurenai-san is Asuma-san's strict older sister."_ Peter deducted.

Kakashi sighed, _"I'm amazed. Not much can notice that particularly detail since Asuma's pretty secretive about his relationship with Kurenai."_

Peter whistled, amazed with himself that he actually noticed a thing that not even the majority of the ninjas knew, _"Pretty lucky, Asuma-san is."_

Kakashi chuckled. Peter might not be as much of a plain _gaijin _as he thought. To be honest, he even caught Kakashi's interest, which was saying a lot since the only thing to catch Kakashi's interest is his perverted novel.

After that, the members of team 7 and 10 bid farewell to Kakashi and Peter as they left for Yakiniku Q. Peter grumbled while folding his arms to his chest, cursing the fact that he's still hospitalized and unable to go anywhere or eat anything tasty at that. It didn't help that Naruto decided to tease him about it, and I quote, _"Sooo, while you're here brooding the fact that you're still hospitalized and unable to go anywhere or eat anything tasty, we'll be having a huge eat out with lots and lots of yakiniku! How does it feel, hmm?"_

"_Naruto..."_ Peter glared childsihly at the blond, a growl emanated from his throat, _"I swear one of these days I'll get you back for that."_

"_Hah! Come and try, cobweb-face!"_

"_You're gonna regret the day you say that, you whiskered bastard!"_ Peter yelled, struggling to get off the bed which was, unfortunately, an impossible feat since Sakura had somehow set up several restraints on his bed when he didn't notice it before. So to his demise, he could only seethe in anger as Naruto walked out of the door laughing out loud. And if it wasn't for his currently healing chakra system, Peter would've jumpstart his black suit already and charge at the blond buffoon.

"_Maa, calm down, Peter-san. Naruto's just like that, sometimes."_ Kakashi said, nervously trying to calm Peter down before he breaks a nerve.

"_Damn. Stupid hospital and its policies..."_

"_I think you should be grateful that they're taking care of you."_

"_Taking care, my ass."_ Peter pouted, _"They didn't even let me go anywhere, and I'm itching for some web-slinging."_

Kakashi sighed as he found out that Peter might hate the hospital just as much as Naruto do. Silence ensued as both didn't have anything to say to each other, seeing that Peter was busy sulking and Kakashi opening his Icha Icha novel again. Kakashi didn't like the atmosphere; it was tense, and having a brooding person on a bed next to him was really uncomfortable. He had enough experience with Sasuke that it made him sick. So he tried to cheer up the unmasked hero.

"_So, uh...in America, do they call you Mr. Paruka?"_

"_FUUUUUUUU-!"_

**xoxoFlashback, Power Downxoxo**

Well, that's what happened. Even now, he was still sour of the fact that these people call him "Paruka". Oh, if Mary Jane ever hear about this, she'd laugh her ass off. I mean, imagine! If they ever get married, and if Peter's generous enough to invite his Japanese friends, they'll say, _"Congratulations on becoming a Mrs. Paruka, Mary Jane!"_

Oh, how much Peter would like to have a jetpack, put it on, and fly away with a "nothing-to-do-here" expression if that time ever comes.

He was brought out of his musing when the nurse started to talk to him again. He didn't quite hear what she said because he wasn't paying attention, so he asked her to repeat what she said. The nurse huffed before saying again, _"I said, I want to thank you for taking care of my daughter."_

"_Daughter?"_ Peter blinked in surprise, scratching the back of his head nervously, _"A-aah, I guess you misunderstood me for someone else. I didn't do anything to anyone's daughter, honest!"_

The nurse, Yoshino, huffed tiredly, _"No, of course you didn't. I didn't meant 'taking care' in...that kind of way."_

"_Then, which way are we talking about?"_

"_The normal, non-preverted way."_

"_Ah. Okay, but I still have no idea which girl you meant."_ Peter admitted. Sure, he met a lot of girls, but he was sure he didn't meet any that is a daughter of a nurse. If he did, he would already blackmail this nurse just for the sake of letting him out of the hospital. _"Not that I'm referring myself as a playboy, but I've met a lot of girls after I arrived in this village."_

Yoshino quirked an eyebrow, _"Really? *sigh* and I was pretty sure that you're the person, judging by Sakura's description about you."_

"_...come again?"_ Peter gaped, not believing what he just heard, _"Sakura? As in, Haruno Sakura? Then, that means..."_

The nurse shook her head, giggling slightly at the look Peter was giving her, _"And as she told me, you're quite slow, as well. Yes, I'm Sakura's mother. My full name is Haruno Yoshino."_ She suddenly glanced mischievously at Peter, _"And that's a Mrs. Yoshino for you, Mr. Paruka. Unless, of course, you want to feel my husband's fist on your face."_

Peter gulped, _"I'd rather not, actually."_ He sweated a little at the image of a huge, muscle-filled freak punching the daylights out of him and breaking every bone in his body. _"So you're Sakura's mother, huh? I guess acorns really don't fall far from their trees, after all."_

"_What does that suppose to mean?"_ Yoshino asked, suspicious.

"_Well, she's a medic-nin, you're a nurse. Both of you are in the same boat, if anything."_ Peter then scratched his cheek sheepishly, _"I just didn't expect that you're gonna be the one to nurse me around."_

Yoshino snorted, amused by the brunette's statement, _"I didn't, as well. All of the sudden, Hokage-sama assigned me to your room and ordered me to make check-ups on you. I thought that this was a joke, because I'm practically retired, but when I heard that the patient is someone who helped Sakura in a mission, I kind of changed my mind."_

"_And I still don't know whether that's a good thing or not. At least not until you give me some ramen."_ Peter muttered. Suddenly, Yoshino laughed, surprising Peter by her carefree tone of laugh. He pouted at the nurse, _"What's so funny?"_

"_Oh, nothing. It's just that I didn't expect you to love ramen this much."_ Yoshino said.

"_Blame Naruto for that. All it took was a visit to Ichiraku's, and I'm already falling in love for its taste."_ Although the words were sweet, Peter's face was that of a sour person. Probably because he's currently regretting being introduced to the heavenly taste of Ichiraku Ramen, only to be denied of it in hospital. Just what grudge does the hospital holds against Ichiraku Ramen, anyway?

Yoshino chuckled, _"Ichiraku Ramen, huh?"_ She looked at her patient a bit without him noticing it. Biting her lip, she decided to ask the question that had been nagging her mind the whole time, _"One question, Mr. Paruka?"_

Peter groaned, _"What?"_

She seemed a bit hesitant, which was proven when she bit her lip. However, the hesitation was temporary, and when she got over it, she continued, _"Are you really Spiderman?"_

Peter's eyes widened, before narrowing as he looked at Yoshino, _"You...know who I am?" _He doubted that Sakura has told her mother about his super-hero identity, because it's not something to publicly talk about. If that's the case...how did this nurse know him?

However, it seemed that he wasn't the only one who was shocked. Yoshino herself had her eyes widen and her jaw agape; an obvious sign that she was just as surprised as he is. _"Really?! Spiderman of the Avengers?! Is it really you?"_

That got Peter startled. Okay, overall check: Yoshino knew not only the fact that Peter is Spiderman, but that he's a member of the Avengers. Peter narrowed his eyes at Yoshino; his right hand moving into its web-shooting position under the blanket he used. He cautiously eyed the nurse, _"Who exactly are you?"_ He asked seriously. To his amusement, though, the nurse smiled widely at him. Her smile was so wide that if she didn't open her mouth Peter was sure she'd tear off her cheeks. Ironically, rather than tearing off her cheeks, it seemed that tears rolled off her cheeks.

Peter's hostile attitude diminished as Yoshino let the tears flow out of her eyes. He began to panic when Yoshino suddenly dropped to the floor crying, _"O-Oi! Are you okay?!"_ He got off of his bed; cringing as he did because of the wounds that haven't healed completely, but he ignored the pain. He kneeled down beside the floor to check on the nurse, still confused by her sudden change of mood, _"Hey, Mrs. Yoshino? What's wrong?"_

"_*hic*s-so we're really back. W-we *sniffle* really made it back!"_ Her speech was undiscernable between the sniffling. Peter only caught the part about "making it back", which he didn't really understand. 'Just what the hell...?' He didn't know how to comfort her, so he only put his hand on her shoulder and grasped it lightly in a comforting way.

After several moments, Yoshino finally calmed down. She ended up sitting on Kakashi's previous bed, which was now left unused. She looked down to her lap as Peter continued to eye her in a confusing way from his bed, _"Sooo...care to explain what was that all about?"_

Yoshino sniffled again, but she didn't cry. It seemed that she really has calmed down, this time. Putting up a smile, she said, _"I'm sorry about that. It's just, I'm so happy to know that..."_

"_That...what?"_ Peter pushed on. Yoshino shook her head, her smile still intact, _"You wouldn't believe my story."_

"_Ma'am, trust me. I've seen people who can turn into the spirit of vengeance itself by their own whim, so there's nothing that I can't believe."_ Peter said, hoping his joke could lift up the tension in the air. Seeing Yoshino laugh lightly, Peter talked again, _"And, to remind you, you still owe me an answer. Who are you? How do you know about me and the Avengers?"_

To his surprise, Yoshino giggled. It wasn't even the kind of evil giggle that female villains usually emits. No, Yoshino was purely amused, by something that Peter didn't understand. Yoshino smiled at the brunnete, her eyes locking with his, _"I guess Nick Fury hasn't told you about me, has he? Typical. He's probably getting too senile for his own job."_

"_What do you mean? How did you know about old man Fury?"_ Peter questioned,surprised by the nurse's statement. Now, he began to doubt that she was just a nurse, _"And you still haven't answered my first question."_ He didn't mean to sound like an interrogator, but someone who knew about SHIELD and its internal members isn't just anybody. It was bad enough that he found out that more than half of the village's population knew about the Avengers and the hero that served under that name; to hear that a nurse, of all people, knew about Nick Fury was shocking.

Yoshino reached for the nurse hat on her head, _"Before you get all hostile on me, Mr. Paruka,"_ She pulled the hat away from her head, revealing the short-cut, maroon-red hair she had, _"Let me say that you already know the answers for all your questions."_

At first, Peter didn't know what the hell Yoshino was talking about. That is, until he noticed the hairstyle she had and after he got the image of the nurse in different set of clothing; in which, she wore a redish-purple and white vest with a red t-shirt underneath, with red shorts and white boots. He didn't know why did he suddenly thought of such an image. Until he realized...

He had seen her once, back when he was messing around with SHIELD's database.

"_You're...!"_

**xoxoxo**

_A day earlier, with team 7..._

After the eat-out that consists of Naruto, Sakura, Sai, Ino and Chouji, they all departed and walked respectively to their own homes. Well, everyone but Naruto and Sakura, whose houses were pretty much in the same direction. Sai had teased them before he went on his own way, _"So, Dickless, are you going to ask for Hag's parents' blessing for your wedding?"_

Needless to say, Sai's arrival to his apartment was 15 minutes early after he was launched by a killer uppercut, courtesy of Sakura.

The exchange in Yakiniku Q was pretty...interesting, for Naruto at least. Sai seemed to be opening up a bit by bit as he befriended Team 10's members (minus Shikamaru, who conveniently disappeared to take care of some "family business"). Sure, there was the dangerous way Sai opted as an introduction. Such as when Sai had almost nicknamed Chouji "Fatso", which was immediately prevented by Naruto by clamping his hand down on Sai's mouth like he did with Peter. After he berated the pale artist about Chouji's sensitivity of his weight, Sai nodded a bit awkwardly.

Then came Ino's turn. Sakura was very sure that Sai would call the blonde something hurtful like he did to her. Something like _"Ugly"_, _"Hag"_ or the likes would be sufficient, Sakura had thought. However, it came as a shocker when Sai referred to Ino as _"Beautiful"_ when he figured out that women didn't like it when you call them by hurtful names. So, yeah, Ino blushed and was rendered speechless. Unfortunately, Yakiniku Q was almost trashed when Sakura became enraged and yelled, _"Why did you call Ino that, Shannaroo!"_

Needless to say, perhaps the only one who had their stomach full was Chouji, and that was only because he stayed silent when Sakura chased Sai all over the restaurant.

"_Seriously, Sakura-chan, I think you took it too far with Sai."_ Naruto said, giving Sakura a scolding look. Sakura pouted as she looked away, _"I can't help it! How Sai could call me a hag while not saying the same to Ino is beyond me!"_ Sakura cracked her knuckles, looking like she was ready to murder someone, _"And I don't like it when I'm being compared with Ino-pig!"_

"_Uh...okay?"_ Naruto sweat-dropped at Sakura's antics, wondering just how deep their rivalry ran. _"You really gotta forgive Sai, though. He doesn't look like he has gotten used to using his emotions. Not that I blame him, though."_

"_Yeah, he's pretty dense on that part."_ Sakura agreed, combing her hair with her hands just to relieve the stress that had accumulated in her head.

They were nearing Sakura's house when Naruto suddenly had a thoughtful look. He was silent at that, because a curious thought just passed his mind. However, it was his silence that caught Sakura's attention; he's rarely this silent, if there ever **was **a time that he even shuts up like this. _"Naruto? What's the matter?"_

"_Nah, it's just that..."_ Naruto began, before suddenly sighing. Sakura raised an eyebrow, confused by Naruto's behaviour. Finally, Naruto spoke up again, _"Sakura-chan, I think Peter is going to leave us."_

Sakura stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes widening considerably in shock. That...she hasn't told him that, has she? And Sakura was sure that Peter has no intention to tell Naruto about him leaving; after all, Peter had told her that he didn't want to let Naruto know. So...how? Feigning her shock once more, she looked nervously at Naruto, _"W-why did you think so? He doesn't look like he's leaving, just yet. After all, he's still in the hospital."_

"_I know, but what I meant is after he's discharged from that place, he'd be leaving soon."_ Naruto looked down to his feet, his bangs shading his eyes giving him a mournful look, _"I...this might be crazy, but I heard him talk to someone back before our mission to retrieve Sasuke."_

"_Talking? To who?"_ Sakura inquired.

"_I don't know, he had his windows closed so I could only hear him talking. But...here's the crazy part; they were talking in English!"_

Sakura looked skeptically at her teammate, _"Really? How can you be so sure? Furthermore, even if they __**were**__ talking in English, how could you understand what they were talking?"_

Naruto scratched the back of his head, getting confused more and more after each passing minutes, _"That's what I'm telling you; it's crazy! I never even learned English, but I understood what they were talking about! It's as if my brain was hardwired to understand their language, too."_

"_Hmm...I don't really know about that."_ Sakura muttered. Inside her mind, she was frantically trying to think of a way to cover Peter's leaving, _'This is bad...I didn't expect Naruto to already know about this. I need to think of something!'_

"_Alright, assuming Peter __**was**__ talking about leaving...what makes you think he'll go soon? He's probably thinking about going after a while."_ She tried.

Unfortunately, Naruto shook his head adamantly, _"I heard what I heard, Sakura-chan. Peter was talking to this guy about a jet and stuff...no doubt that he's trying to get a lift home."_ He clenched his fist hard, feeling a little betrayed. Instantly after that feeling surfaced, he felt guilty as well. Why did he think like that? What right does he have to want Peter to not leave? If Peter wanted to leave, its his own right. Still, Naruto couldn't help but feel a little depressed that Peter really was leaving.

"_I don't understand...why do people always leave us after having bonds with us?"_ Naruto muttered solemnly. He bit his lip, _"I know it's wrong, but...when I heard Peter is going to leave us, I feel like he wants to betray us."_

It was right at that time that Sakura snapped, somehow feeling angered by Naruto's comment, _"Stop that thought right now! Peter's not betraying us; you can't think like that! Do you forget Naruto? This is the same guy that risked his own life to protect ours!"_

Naruto stared at Sakura, his eyes boring into her green eyes and catching the flare of emotions that passed them. Then, his eyes lowered back to the ground, feeling ashamed of himself, _"I know...sorry. I thought that I could let him go, but I'm afraid that if I do that I'll never be able to get Sasuke back again. I mean, Peter's the only one that was able to go toe-to-toe against Sasuke when neither of us could. I feel...helpless."_

"_Now what kind of thinking is that?"_ Sakura scolded, her hands on her waist making her look like a teacher telling her student to go to detention, _"Who are you, really? That's not how the Uzumaki Naruto I know would think like. The Naruto I know is too stubborn to actually depend on someone else, even if sometimes he needed to!"_

No matter what Sakura said, Naruto kept looking down with that pathetic look on his face. Sakura's eyes softened, realizing that this might be one of the times that Naruto would show his vulnerability. It saddened her to see her best friend like this, and she really wanted to wash that pathetic look off of his face. Naruto's strong; that's what she believes. That's what she would always believe because that's what the future Hokage always say.

"_The Naruto I know..."_ Sakura spoke again, her tone unwavering yet it was a bit shaky. She held her hands together nervously, watching Naruto's reaction carefully as he let her finish her sentence, _"is a brave ninja who isn't afraid of anything. Not Orochimaru, not Akatsuki, and not even the world itself!"_

Naruto gave no reaction to Sakura's words. Or, at least, that's what Sakura saw. If she were to look closely, she could see that he flinched and that his lower lip was trembling. Sakura narrowed her eyes at Naruto, frustrated that the blond didn't give her any answers. Before she could say anything about it, however, Naruto's arm raised to his face and he proceeded to rub it on his eyes. Sakura blinked, realizing a fact that she didn't notice a while before, _'Is he...crying?'_

"_Naruto...am I wrong?"_ She asked, trying to see if he really was crying underneath the shadows his hair created.

Naruto continued to rub his eyes clean of his tears, and after he finished, he looked at Sakura with a small smile, _"No, you're right. Maybe I was just being selfish."_ He shook his head, chuckling as he did so, _"Ah, who am I kidding? I can't depend on Peter forever, can I? I've promised you that we'll bring Sasuke back. How can I bring Peter into all this? Really stupid of me..."_

Sakura smiled at Naruto, but it didn't reach her eyes. She found it hard to believe in Naruto's smile which she believed to be a fake one. It wasn't something that Sai used; rather, it was a fake smile he used whenever he tried to be strong inside. Sometimes...no, usually, it only meant that he was hurting deeply inside. Nevertheless, she offered a smile to him, placing her left hand on his right shoulder and grasped it comfortingly, _"You're not stupid, Naruto. You're just such a baka sometimes."_

Naruto pouted, _"Sakura-chan, that's mean. And there's no difference in that!"_

Sakura stuck out her tongue childishly; part of her was glad that Naruto's acting more like the Naruto she always knew. Naruto kept pouting, but he stopped his childish antics when he noticed where they are. He turned to Sakura with a grin, _"Look, Sakura-chan! We're here."_

Sakura looked to where Naruto pointed, and realized that they had arrived at her house. Strange, she didn't realize that they've arrived; must be because that somewhere between their conversation they resumed their walk. She mentally chuckled, amused by the fact that killing time with Naruto was such an overkill. She felt a bit disappointed that they've gotten to her house faster than she expected; this meant that she couldn't tease Naruto more.

"_I guess so."_ She said, skipping up her doorsteps, _"Well, thanks for walking me home, Naruto. I guess hanging out with you isn't really that boring, after all."_

"_Sakura-chaaan..."_ Naruto whined, his shoulders slumping at the remark Sakura made. Sakura giggled as she turned around and was only beginning to turn her door's doorknob when Naruto called for her, _"Sakura-chan, before you go, I..."_

Sakura turned around once again, facing Naruto with a curious expression, _"Yeah?"_ She was confused by Naruto's flustered look. It was not everyday she could see him this nervous. Eventually, Naruto got over his nervousness and beamed at Sakura with the brightest smile he could muster, _"I just want to thank you. You know, for making me realize what I have to do. I don't what I'd do without you, Sakura-chan."_

Aaand cue blush and widened eyes for Sakura. Her cheeks heated up at Naruto's words, to which she desperately tried to regain control of. She looked away, her throat tightening as she tried to form words, _"W-well, it-it's not like I'm doing it for you or anything, it's just that...AAH, whatever! See ya, Naruto!"_ And then she promptly went through the door, slamming it none so gently.

So Naruto was left there, a dumbfounded expression on his face and a literal writing of 'dafuq' above his head. _"Just what did I say?"_ He said to himself. He shrugged and continued his walk home alone, interlacing his hands behind his head as he looked at the road in front of him with a bored expression. Unlike that of his outer appearance, his mind was currently thinking hard on what Sakura said to him. _'Am I really like that? Am I strong enough to be someone like that again?'_

He sighed when he realized how emo he had just sounded. Shaking his head, he continued his walk. _'Haah...walking alone is no fun, after all. Perhaps someday I could get Sakura-chan to walk me home, but that would be sooo un-gentleman-like.'_ He mused, unaware that the nine-tailed fox inside him heard what he thought. Therefore, the blond was surprised when Kyuubi suddenly chuckled in his mindscape.

'_What's so funny, you bastard fox?'_

Kyuubi just continued his chuckling, seemingly amused by something Naruto didn't know. It aggravated the Uzumaki, so much that he yelled back mentally, _'Hey, quit with the chuckling! You're getting on my nerves!'_

On cue, Kyuubi's chuckle died out. He then talked to Naruto through the mental link they share, _**'Brat...you ask me what did I find amusing?'**_

'_Well, yeah, that's what I said.'_ Naruto thought back.

'_**What I find amusing is, brat, that you're still able to walk with someone that you've hurt terribly before. Keh, humans and their inconsistency...'**_

Something inside Naruto just snapped. A nerve formed on his temple as he mentally yelled at the Bijuu in him angrily, _'SHUT UP! It's __**you**__! You're the one that hurt her! You've hurt her, and you __**dare**__ accuse me of doing it?!'_

'_**I thought I've made it clear before, brat.'**_ Kyuubi growled at his tenant,_** 'The one who hurt your pink-haired female friend, and the one who used my powers to do so, is all YOU!'**_

'_LIAR! I would never hurt Sakura-chan! It's always you, you bastard. You always hurt the ones close to me! Why, if I could kill you right now, I would've done it already!'_ Naruto roared, his teeth grinding against each other as he tried to contain his anger.

Surprisingly, Kyuubi stayed silent. He looked at his tenant silently, before the edges of his mouth tugged down into a frown. His eyes narrowed as he seethed at Naruto, but somehow, the hatred in those slitted red eyes was directed somewhere else. _**'Keh...so Raibi's little brat haven't told you about "that", huh? Pitiful. And I expect more from someone who holds my twin brother.'**_

'_What're you saying?'_ Naruto asked, his eyes narrowing at the gigantic fox.

'_**Brat...I'm going to tell you WHO exactly hurt your friends.'**_ Kyuubi blinked, and then a mischievous grin formed on his lips, _**'Well, rather than tell you, it's probably faster if I show you. Prepare yourself, brat, for what I'm going to show you is your "true" self!'**_

'_My...true self?'_ Naruto wondered as Kyuubi clapped his paws together and looked as if in prayer. A second of silence was all Kyuubi needed before his red eyes flared as he declared his jutsu, _**'Meiton: Ikari no Kengen!'**_

Now, Raibi's Manifestation of Rage, as previously described, was a twister which ended with a resounding thunderclap. Kyuubi's different. What came out of Kyuubi wasn't miasma; rather, it was pure red chakra that shot out of him and crashed into the puddle of sewer water just outside the cage. Naruto stared at the chakra, confused to what it actually is. He didn't have enough time to analyze, because whatever little water his mindscape had suddenly spun into a giant vortex. Naruto had to pour more chakra into his feet just to stick to his place and avoid being sucked by the vortex. Then, Kyuubi's lump of red chakra raised above the water, hovering in place before compressing.

An ominous sound echoed through Naruto's mindscape when the chakra turned into a more humanoid figure, but still blood-red in color. Over time, the chakra shifted more and more into a shape of a human. What shocked Naruto was that it turned into a complete doppelganger of...himself?

No, that would be wrong. That person in front of him wasn't him. When the doppelganger opened his eyes, they were dark, lifeless and hateful. To prove his point, Naruto was particularly sure that he didn't sound like a distorted television, which was emitted when the doppelganger talked, _**'So...we meet at last, Ou-sama.'**_

'_What?'_

**xoxoxo**

_Days after that, discharging day of patient number #30.2..._

That day was the best day for Peter. That day, was the day of his liberation, and damn does it feels good to be out of the hospital!

"_At last..."_ Peter said dramatically, his feet trembling with excitement, _"I'm finally out of that hellhole they call a hospital! FREEDOOOOM!"_ He yelled his lung out, letting the world (or, at the very least, every person near him) know of this spectacular predicament. As it was, everyone around him looked at him as if he had just stripped down to the last bit of his clothing. Peter himself didn't particularly care; to him, his current freedom is the main event here.

"_All right! Now, it's straight to Ichiraku Ramen!"_ He giggled excitedly, almost in a schoolgirl-like manner, _"Chances are Naruto would be there already. When I see him, I'll rub this freedom to his face and order more bowls of ramen than he already does! Oooh, sweet revenge!"_

His grin was frighteningly wide, maniacal like that of his negative side. Realizing this, the brunette man stopped and scratched the back of his head with a confused expression on his face. 'Funny, I never thought Nega-me likes ramen just as much as I do.' He thought. Shrugging his shoulder, Peter then proceeded to walk casually towards his next destination. As much as he wanted to find out the mystery that is Nega-Spiderman, he needed to fill his empty stomach first. Food first, dark side second.

'If only the hospital serves some ramen...*sigh* I doubt that'll happen. Back in New York, they barred cheeseburgers to be sold in the hospital.' He grumbled to himself, 'Darn health department and their anti-junk food policy.'

And the fact that the previous nurse wasn't any different didn't help at all.

The edges of Peter's lips tugged down into a frown. His meeting with Yoshino was unexpected. She was the last person on Earth he would expect to meet, actually, because rumor has it that she—along with three other people—had gone missing years ago. Her explanation about their disappearance was just as surreal as it could get, too.

**xoxoFlasback Time Machinexoxo**

Peter's mouth hanged open, his tongue frozen by shock while his eyes shook with disbelief. He raised a shaky finger and pointed at the maroon-haired nurse that is Yoshino, his tongue still struggling to form words, _"Y-you...are you...h-how come...?!"_

Yoshino smiled innocently at him, _"A miracle, perhaps."_ She said, her feet dangling on the edges of the other patient bed besides the one Peter was using.

The raised hand fell unceremoniously to the bed, back where it belonged. Peter stared at Yoshino for another minute before eventually releasing a sigh; a sigh that was a sign that he gave up on understanding the concept of the current mystery in his mind. So, instead of solving it himself, he demanded an answer, _"Why are you here?"_

"_Well, to take care of thick-headed patients such as yourself, obviously."_ Yoshino snorted, amused. However, Peter's glare caught her interest and she turned serious, _"I'd be glad if you elaborate what you meant."_

"_Then let me ask you again..."_ Peter said, his tone dropping as the cheery him dropped out of him, _"What are you, Fujieda Yoshino, former member of the Digimon Analyzer Tactics Squad, doing in this kind of place?"_

Hearing this, Yoshino's frown deepened. She tried to lift the tense atmosphere, though, and shot a smile to her male patient, _"Seems that someone has done his homework, ne?"_

"_It's more of an accident, actually."_ Peter answered right away, the glare he was giving Yoshino lessened, _"Messing with SHIELD's computer gave me more information than I thought. I never knew that SHIELD works together with an agency that exterminates monsters from another dimension. Hell, I didn't even know that digital monsters exist before I stumbled upon you and your partners' profiles."_

"_And you shouldn't have known. DATS works secretly without anyone from the society knowing that we exists. Just having an agency as world-wide as SHIELD cooperate with us is already too much for us to cover, since we didn't want the world to know the existence of Digimons."_ Yoshino smiled ruefully, _"Ah, but how would it make any difference, now? DATS was disbanded long ago, and the Belphemon Incident already had the world's attention. Maybe it was really a waste of time trying to cover it up."_

Peter's tense shoulders relaxed. He had heard about that incident involving a giant, demonic monster that wrecked havoc in Japan, which quickly became a threat to the world. He never thought that it was a real Digimon. Sadly, SHIELD wasn't in any position to help, either. Green, otherworldly menaces (otherwise known as the Skrulls) attacked Washington D.C. in hopes of gaining control over America's head of command. If it wasn't for the combined efforts of the whole members of Avengers, X-men and the Fantastic Four, the White House would've been no more.

"_Trying to cover up something that big is impossible, and you know that; even with the possession of that Men in Black memory-eraser thingy."_ Peter's eyes glanced to the window beside him and looked out to the village. He sighed once again before turning to Yoshino, _"But you still haven't answered my question. What are you doing in Konoha? The records said that you should've been dead already."_

"_No surprise, there."_ Yoshino scoffed, folding her arms together in front of his chest, _"Our last trip to the Digital World wasn't as successful as we would prefer."_

"_I can imagine."_ Peter concided, _"To think you landing here was an accident, as well."_ He added. Yoshino looked mournfully at him, which, to Peter, made her look sadder than before. Peter kept silent as to let her talk, _"When I got here, I didn't recognize this place, at all. I mean, the people here are different, the culture's different, and when I asked about what happened when me and my team were away, they looked at me like crazy."_ She sighed, _"So the only conclusion I could make was that the time has passed for so long that our existence were completely forgotten, or that the dimension travel from the Digital World went wrong and we ended up in a different dimension."_

Peter nodded solemnly, trying to understand Yoshino's feelings, _"It must've been hard, huh?"_

"_Hard is a harsh understatement."_ Yoshino said mirthfully, _"We felt so much despair that we almost broke down. I thought that I would never meet my family again, and Masaru cried all night as he tried to take it all in."_

He looked to be sympathizing with Yoshino's predicament, but in fact, he didn't know what she felt, at all. After all, he didn't know her. He looked up to Yoshino, his dark brown eyes boring into her purplish irises, _"I hate to ask more from you, but I need to know. Where are the other three members?"_

Yoshino smiled again at him. She smiled a lot...a bit too much. It was as if she was concealing something from him, but not even Peter's finely-honed spider-sense picked up anything. _"We got seperated after coming back from the Digital World. Two disappeared, and I don't know where they are right now. But Masaru is here, in this village. In fact, he's now my husband."_

Peter blinked owlishly at the redhead, not believing his ears (or, at least, the translation his translation seal made), _"Husband? Don't tell me he's..."_ Before he could let the implication of his statement hang too long in the air, Yoshino nodded complyingly. Peter sighed, _"Let me guess...this Masaru I read about in Konoha's archive is the same as the Masaru I read about in SHIELD's database?"_

"_Correct."_

Suddenly, much to Yoshino's amusement, Peter face-palmed. Yoshino was going to ask what gotten into him before he groaned out loud, muttering, _"No wonder your daughter's like that..."_

"_Excuse me?"_ Yoshino inquired, a nerve formed on her forehead.

"_N-nothing!"_ Peter quickly said. Really, if Sakura's mother is Yoshino while the father is Masaru, there wasn't really any mystery on Sakura's personality.

Yoshino hummed uncaringly as she began taking notes of Peter's overall health again. Peter, for his part, kept silent as she did so. His mind was currently filled with riddles, which was much more than he could answer right away. He decided to not ask for further information from Yoshino; to indulge further would not only be rude, but dangerous as well. So he'd let riddles be riddles, for now.

**xoxoFlashback, Power Downxoxo**

Now, though, he couldn't be so careless about it. If what Yoshino said is true, then there was a possibility that the other two missing members might be around somewhere in the Elemental Nations. But, that's a mystery to be solved later. This time, he had to find out why two of the DATS members, Fujieda Yoshino and Daimon Masaru, changed their surnames into Haruno after their marriage.

Despite everything, he still had the feeling that this wouldn't be his problem if he wasn't such a jackass and tried to play "osu!" in SHIELD's main computer.

A tired sigh escaped his lips as he finally arrived in front of Ichiraku Ramen's ramen stand. Eyeing the white cloth that is the banner of the ramen stand, he pushed it aside and went in. Once inside, he was greeted with the ever-present smile of the stand's owner and head chef, Ichiraku Teuchi, who was currently wiping a glass like a bartender.

"_Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen! What'll be the order for the day?"_ The old man asked.

Peter was about to laugh at Teuchi for not noticing that he is the same person as the masked man that had ate his ramen, but decided against it for the sake of security. Sure, he said that he trusted the Rookie 9 enough to let them know about his identity, but he preferred to keep his name unknown on the outside. So instead, he opted to smile politely back and said, _"I think...three bowls of miso ramen should do."_ He actually wanted to order a seafood bowl, but his previous experience with sashimi—which led to the infamous "sashimi blast"—told him to do otherwise.

Teuchi raised an eyebrow curiously, _"Three? My, that's quite a lot. It seems you have quite the appetite!"_

Peter chuckled, _"Nah, I'm just __**really**__ hungry, that's all."_

Teuchi laughed, finding amusement in Peter's words, _"Alright! Three miso bowls, coming right up!"_ After he said that, he quickly dashed from one spot to another, cooking the three ramen bowls like a boss (well, he's not **like** a boss. He **is** the boss).

Peter made himself comfortable by sitting on the plushy chair in front of the stool. Well, as comfortable as a single plushy chair could make him. He leaned forward and put his arms on the stool's customer table (or whatever it is that they usually used to eat ramen on) and waited patiently for his ordered ramen. He looked to his left, then right, then back to staring at the chopstick on the table. Something was missing...he just knew it. And, no, it wasn't because he found that the chopsticks were uneven.

"_It's pretty quite, huh?"_

"_Eh?"_ Peter blinked and raised his head, facing Ayame who was putting down a glass of water in front of him. He looked quizically at the female brunette, who smiled cheerily at him, before saying, _"Oh, uh...I guess so. Actually, I half-expected to find a blond kid munching twenty or so ramen bowls before I came here."_

Ayame giggled. Peter raised a curious eyebrow at her, wondering what did she find amusing. He really thought that Naruto would be here already; what, with the clock already pointing out that it was lunchtime, Naruto should've been in his favorite ramen stand already. It's not like he had other kind of food he prefers, rather than his favorite ramen, after all.

"_Yeah, when you say it like that..."_ Ayama exhaled, staring at the empty stool next to Peter's with a faraway look, _"He hasn't been here for quite some time, now."_ Peter looked at Ayame, confused by what she meant. Seeing the confusion on Peter's face, Ayame laughed sheepishly, _"Ah, that blond boy is our favorite customer. His name is—"_

"_Uzumaki Naruto, yes, I know him."_ Peter cut her off, _"In fact, you could say we're kind of...acquaintances."_

"_You are?"_ Ayame let out, surprised. She scratched her chin in thought, her eyes looking up to the ceiling, _"Naruto never talked about you, though, and I've never seen you around either."_

"_Oh, I kinda have a thin presence,"_ Peter grinned sheepishly, _"And, yeah, this is the first time I eat here while being...well, me."_ The undercover hero nearly slapped his forehead in disappointment of himself, cursing the fact that he nearly slipped. He didn't really know how to act in front of people that had met him as Spiderman, and he was used to the fact that he always wore his mask around the people here.

Ayame...well, she didn't really get what Peter was saying, so it prompted her to ask, _"Being you? Was there a time that you came here while...not being you? Because that's just plain creepy."_

'Crap, now she thinks I'm a freak.' Peter silently thought. He chuckled nervously while trying to word out his excuse, _"Well, I, uh..."_ Which, of course, failed misreably. It took him several seconds of a seemingly mild disorder of the jaw before he finally groaned out loud. Ayame looked at him like he was crazy, but was unable to say anything about it when Peter stood up and leaned forward on the stool, accidentally invading her personal space. It didn't look like Peter noticed it, though.

"_Look, you'll promise not to tell anyone about this, okay?"_ He ordered.

Ayame blushed at the close proximity, but nodded anyway. She's still in the grey zone on what Peter was talking about, and her confusion was written all over her face, _"Tell what?"_

Peter sighed, then folded his middle and ring finger while letting his other fingers stick out, and pointed his hand to the wall on his right. Ayame observed his actions curiously, and was surprised when Peter suddenly shot a line of web which stuck itself on the wall. Her jaw fell agape, and her hands desperately covered her mouth as she whispered loudly, _"Spiderman?!"_

"_Shh!"_ Peter shushed her, his pointing finger lifted in front of his mouth as a gesture of silence, _"I said you can't let anyone know about this."_

"_S-sorry."_ Ayame said, scratching the back of her head while looking apologetic. She looked behind her back and let out a sigh of relief when she realized that her father hadn't heard a thing. _"Anyway, what happened to your mask and costume? I didn't recognize you at all when you came in."_ She asked curiously.

"_Yeeaah, well..."_ Peter was still feeling sour about what happened to his costume. It took him weeks to make it, and it only took a run-in with a bastard Uchiha to completely ruin it...well, yeah, Raibi helped in the ruining part, but that's beside the fact. _"Long story short, I'm gonna need a new costume."_

"_I can see that."_ Ayame said, shaking her head with disbelief. Soon, her father came beside her and served three bowls of miso ramen in front of Peter while wearing a huge grin, _"There you go, three miso bowls!"_ How he put those three bowls without accidentally tipping one of them unbalanced was a mystery for Peter; one that he paid no mind of as he proceeded to split a chopstick in two, muttering, _"Itadakimasu."_ Before eating the ramen with an explicable show of hunger.

Ayame sweat-dropped at the scene, _'Maybe he would've ate like this before if he didn't wear his mask.'_ She thought, ignoring the boisterous laugh that her father made.

_A few minutes of heavy slurping, gulping and burping later..._

"_Thank you for the meal!"_ Peter exclaimed, clapping his chopsticks together above his empty ramen bowl. Right now, the empty bowl—three, empty ramen bowls—were just that; white, clean, round-shaped bowls.

Just as white as Ayame and Teuchi's widened eyes.

As clean as Ayame and Teuchi's teeth in their gaping mouth.

And as round-shaped as their eyeballs which threatened to jump out of their sockets in pure shock.

"_T-this...the level of his eating cleanness!"_ Teuchi stuttered, his hands shaking as he observed one of the ramen bowls that Peter had generously 'cleaned', _"While it's true that the number of bowls he ate doesn't compare to Naruto, the precision in picking every bit of noodles...the tenacity to lick off every spock of broth in the bowl...!"_

"_Uh, okay, that's just plain disgusting."_ Peter said, sweat-dropping at Teuchi's over-excitement.

"_Moreover, the fact that he did this to three bowls of miso ramen...!"_ Teuchi continued, ignoring the strange look his customer gave him. Suddenly, his large hand clamped down on Peter's left shoulder, making him wince in surprise. As Peter looked up, he nearly screamed in a panicked manner at the sight of Teuchi with streams of tears falling like a waterfall, _"YOUNG MAN! You must really like ramen!"_

Peter calmed down a bit after hearing Teuchi's words. He chuckled coolly before smirking at Teuchi, _"Correction. I LOVE RAMEN!"_

"_Correction!"_ Ayame interrupted, raising her hand as if she was really asking for an interruption in a meeting, _"You obviously love OUR ramen!"_

Peter paused, wondering about the humor that he sensed in Ayame's words. He cupped his chin between his thumb and pointing finger, lost in thought. Then, suddenly after having a humorous epiphany, he exclaimed mentally, 'You Obvious Love Our ramen. YOLO!'

'**The hell is YOLO?'** Raibi asked, sweat-dropping while he stared blankly at his container. Peter didn't answer him because he quickly got out of his thought and smiled at Teuchi and Ayame with a face that showed gratitude, _"Thank you very much. It's been a while since I craved for a taste of your ramen!"_ He said, standing up and bowing respectfully at the father-daughter duo. Both ramen chefs flinched and fidgeted at the sign of respect, before awkwardly returning the bow with their own, while Teuchi stuttered out, _"Oh, no, no, it's always a pleasure cooking ramen for a diligent customer."_

"_Nevertheless, I thank you for these three bowls."_ Peter fished out his wallet and flipped it open. He grinned proudly as his currency problem had been solved when Tsunade came to visit him in the hospital with his payment for the Sasuke retrieval mission. Even though it was a failed mission, he was still a hired muscle, so he got paid nonetheless. He pulled an amount of ryou and put it on the stool, _"Thanks again! And keep the change if you like."_

Teuchi took the cash and counted. He frowned and looked up to Peter, _"But this is the exact...amount."_ Only to find that the brunette was gone. Teuchi stared at the empty space, before chuckling and shook his head, _"Everybody's a comedian."_

**xoxoxo**

Now, to describe Peter's overall condition and travel log (if he had any) in a bad-assed Terminator style (yet again), it would translate into this, 'Fuel check: maximum capacity. Bodily hygiene check: warning! Nose sensors report, need cleansening. Destination: apartment.'

Suddenly, Peter saw Naruto strolling just ahead of him in the same direction, therefore had his back towards him. Just before Peter decided to run up to the blond and say "hi" to him, his mind began processing some informations which he had forgotten about. Currently, he needed to avoid Naruto at all costs. A plan formed in his mind; one to effectively avoid a run-in with the blond Jinchuuriki. However, because describing his train of thought in a bad-assed Terminator style is too mainstream, we'll try to look at it in a bad-assed Pokemon point of view for a change.

'A wild Fischcake appeared! What will you do?

Fight Item  
>Capture Flee.'<p>

Or something like that, if you were to put it in a thinking bubble.

Now, Peter knew that if he had to avoid Naruto, so Fight (read: Enter a conversation) wasn't an option. He didn't have any Item (read: Bribe) to use against him, and he didn't even know why Capture (read: Ensnare with a web cocoon) even became an option. So, the only option he could choose was to Flee (read: Run like a boss). Now, the question might be; why was he avoiding him? Well, let's just say Peter couldn't let Naruto know that he was going to leave soon, and he felt that it would be easier if Naruto stayed in the grey zone.

He knew how Naruto would react if he suddenly leave just after dealing with Sasuke. Worse case scenario, he might think that Peter was mighty uncomfortable with the situation and chose to leave, hating Naruto and the others for what happened to him. That's just it, because on the contrary, Peter didn't hate them, at all. So to avoid certain misunderstandings, he needed to leave unnoticed.

So Peter jumped to the side, clung to a nearby wall, and scaled it up while avoiding Naruto's line of sight. He was actually doing a pretty good job at it; partly because Naruto's eyes were seeing the ground, and the ground only. Peter raised a curious eyebrow, wondering why his blond friend looked so downcast. Moreover, he looked like he was angry at something; Naruto's hands were clenching and his shoulders were trembling. Peter frowned at the sight. He felt the urge to ask what's wrong with the blond, but if he does that, the conversation would somehow spiral down to him explaining that he'd be leaving the village. He knew he couldn't exactly keep anything away from Naruto. It wasn't as if Naruto is smart enough to notice his facadé; no sir, that would be an exaggeration of his intellect.

It was just because Peter couldn't seem to lie to Naruto, no matter what.

Knowing this weakness, Peter turned away and leaped over from rooftops to rooftops in direction of his apartment. His eyebrows were creased inwards as his face adopted a thoughtful look, 'Hey, Raibi?'

'**What is it?'**

'You think it's the right thing? Hiding my leaving day from Naruto? I had said to him and the others that I trusted them, but...' Hearing his host's dilemma, Raibi sighed tiredly. Really, Peter didn't need a Bijuu's opinion in these kind of things; though Raibi is humane enough to actually throw in a cent or two of his thoughts.

'**Listen, Peter. I don't really know how to handle things like these, and you shouldn't ask questions which already have answers. Leaving this village silently might not be the best of choices, but know that if you choose to do so, you have my support as your Bijuu.'** The nine-tailed wolf said. Peter—his mental form—looked up and gave Raibi a hesitant look before nodding, 'I guess. Thanks, Raibi.'

Raibi nodded back as Peter's mental form vanished after he cut off their mental connection. Having the mindscape to his own, Raibi leaned back to the walls of his cage and began to think himself. Though, his thoughts deviate completely from Peter's current dilemma. Raibi's thoughts were about Naruto, and what he had saw—through Peter's eyes—when Peter avoided him. Raibi couldn't help but feel a slight disturbance when he saw Naruto like that. His first thought was that the blond was grieving the fact that he failed to bring back Sasuke in their previous mission. That thought disappeared, however, when he felt the dark core of Naruto's chakra flaring for a brief moment.

'**I know that feeling like the back of my own hand...' **Raibi thought, his musing echoed through the halls of Peter's mindscape, **'That Kyuubi...what was he thinking, using the Manifestation of Rage so quickly? Unless the boy threatened him for a fight of his own mind's dominance, he wouldn't need to use it.'** Raibi frowned in thought; Peter was a different case for him, since Raibi's skill in using _Meiton: Ikari no Kengen_ is the best among all the Bijuu, so there wouldn't be any danger in him using it...but the boy, Naruto, was different. By different, it was by the fact that he held Kyuubi inside him.

Usually, Kyuubi wouldn't bother to waste his chakra to summon out the dark side of his Jinchuuriki; he let his Control of Hatred do the dirty work of corrupting the Jinchuuriki's mind. Therefore, like explained before, he was more superior than anyone else in his control over a human's (and more often than not, non-human) dark emotions. So for him to use Manifestation of Rage—which, to note, he had never use on a human before—on his own Jinchuuriki...it is mighty dangerous.

'**If the dark side ends up consuming Naruto's conscience...I'll need to warn Peter.'** Raibi said. He growled before driving his fist—which is actually a balled paw—into the ground of Peter's mindscape. His green eyes flashed into the other color; red-slitted azure orbs, before turning back to green, **'Damn it.'**

Outside, Peter suddenly received a headache from Raibi's punch. He grabbed his head in shock of the sudden pain; an action he soon regretted as he lost sight of his direction and crashed into a line of clothing, falling down and bringing the clothes with him. He landed on the ground with a grunt, but was soon muffled by tens of clothing piled on him. Under the clothing he yelled, _"The hell? That was uncalled for!"_ He struggled with the clothes for a while, before noticing that the clothes weren't just any clothes. They were...

"_Are these...underwears?"_ He mused out loud. The next thing that happened almost made him shit bricks.

"_KYAAA! PERVERT!"_ A girl, probably not that far above his age, screamed and brought a lot of attention to both her and Peter who laid (seemingly) comfortably in a pile of (seemingly) heavenly underwears.

He stuttered, _"Ah, no, this is just some misunderstanding!"_

"_Hey, look, that guy tried to steal the lady's underwear!"_ A villager said.

"_Yeah, and he looked pretty comfortable while holding those panties."_

"_What a pervert..."_

"_SUCH A PERVERT SHALL NOT GO UNPUNISHED! GET HIM, AND LET'S CASTRATE HIM AFTERWARDS!"_

Peter eyed the gathering villagers with pure fear. Not once he felt such fear since Venom stared him right in the face; which was enough to nearly made him piss his pants. He stammered and stuttered as he tried to make an excuse, but no appropriate words came out so the villagers ganged up on him with the usual pitchforks, torches and the ominous transformation of the sky into blood-red in color.

Through it all, Peter only uttered a single word, _"Fuck."_

He vaulted over the villagers, and proceeded to run for the sake of his life away from the mob. Sadly, while he ran like a true Coyote, the mob seemed to run after him like a true Roadrunner. Anime tears streamed down his face as he felt even more frustrated when he remembered that he was stuck to running because web-slinging would blow up his cover of not being Spiderman. _"To hell with it, let's try this! Take-me-anywhere-but-here jutsu!"_ He exclaimed, his hands forming into a ram hand seal. Of course, no jutsu came out, much to his despair. _"FUUUUU-!"_

'**He tried to do a time-space ninjutsu without knowing any in the first place, the idiot...'** Raibi muttered. He felt guilty for punching the ground of Peter's mindscape earlier, but he couldn't do anything from his position. So instead, he clasped his paws together and said a prayer, **'May he be granted a holy place in heaven.'**

Outside, Peter let out an angered shout, _"Raibi, you bastaaaard!"_

**xoxoxo**

_10 minutes of tiresome running and daring parkour maneuvers later..._

"_Hah...hah...I-I'll never *wheeze* EVER touch a girl's *gasp* underwear again!"_ Peter wheezed out as he leaned to the wall near the door of his apartment.

'**Good for you.'** Raibi said.

'Shut up, furball.' Peter thought back, still annoyed of Raibi's action that resulted in his earlier blunder. He walked, **limped**, to his apartment's door and fumbled with the key a little bit due to his trembling hands. In the end, he just stabbed the key through the keyhole which actually gave him a better result as it fit in perfectly. Sighing, he turned the doorknob and went in to his apartment while nearly leaving his door open just to show how tired he really is after all that running. He went back, growling with an annoyed expression and shut the door.

Seriously, those villagers are incredible runners. If he was to give them points regarding their stamina, he'd say they would be the group of people with the highest rank of survival should a zombie apocalypse. Okay, perhaps last time he checked zombies couldn't exactly run, but that's **besides** the point.

"_Okay, putting those medieval villagers aside...where's the transmitter?"_ He mused, scratching the back of his head with a confused expression on his face. _"And why does that little bastard always do the hiding while I do the seeking, every freaking time I'm looking for it?!"_ He yelled out. Growling again, Peter trashed his bed with hopes of finding the transmitter there like last time.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the transmitter had learned a thing or two from their last hide-and-seek. It no longer hid itself among the bed sheets.

"_Damn you, transmitter! This isn't the time for games!"_ Yep, it's official, Peter had already lost it; him yelling out loud to a transmitter just proved that. Fortunately for him, the transmitter hadn't get rid of its primary weakness; the double consecutive beeping that always gave away its hiding spot, "Be-beep, beep."

"_AHA! I got you now, you overrated electronic device!"_ Peter declared, pointing his finger at the transmitter lying on the floor near a drawer, unmoving. Well, of course it's unmoving, it's a freaking transmitter; an object!

Peter grinned victoriously and grabbed the bast—transmitter!—and punched in a few buttons. Like before, he laid it on his bed and let the transmitter do its work while he sat cross-legged in front of it. He waited patiently for the transmitter to react, and was surprised when the first reaction it gave was to show the hologram of his X-men comrade with his back towards him. Said X-men member then said, surprised, "Where the hell is the webhead?"

"Whoops, looks like I didn't put it right." Peter deducted, his tongue once again moving to speak in English rather than Japanese. He sighed before turning the transmitter around and, by doing so, turning Wolverine's hologram around. Said beastial-looking man then snorted, "Oh, so that's what happened. Leave it to you to make a mistake like that, bub."

"Oh, shush it, it's not my fault that Fury didn't actually write a sign saying which one's the back and the front on this thing." Peter calmly said, "But I'm not in the mood for pleasantries—"

"That's funny, because pleasantries are the only thing you have your mood for." Wolverine cut in.

"If you ever got chased by a mob and almost got ran over by them, you won't be in a mood for anything."

"Bub, I'm a mutant, so I should know."

"Point taken." Peter said, scratching his cheek, "But, anyway, I wanted to ask...how's it going with the X-jet?"

Wolverine's holographic figure frowned visibly. It seemed like he was still hesitant to lend the X-jet to Peter; taking in the fact that he'd be lending the X-men's main transport to his friend who was currently in God-knows-where. "I still think I'm not supposed to do this...but Storm has given me her permission, and being the X-men's second-in-command, that's quite enough." He shrugged, "And Chuck didn't seem to mind when I asked this to him, either."

"Sweet." Peter grinned excitingly.

"Whatever." The mutant said back, "By the way, bub, where the hell were you this past few days?"

"Eh, I was out on a mission for a while. Got wounded and stayed at the hospital when I got back. Why? You're not the type of person to actually care about my absence, are you now?" Peter said, scowling at the end of his sentence. Yes, his and Logan's friendship wasn't the most 'buddy-buddy' kind most people would think; assuming Logan was patient enough to withstand Peter's wisecracking jokes.

Logan seemed to palm his face, groaning out loud. Peter raised an eyebrow at the scene, wondering what was wrong. The Wolverine then glared at Peter with an annoyed look painted all over his face, "You freaking idiot! What would happen if I had sent the jet when you were still on a mission? You're lucky that the X-jet had some maintenance problem we needed to fix, otherwise we'd be sending the X-jet to your place without you being there to receive it! And who knows what'll happen if those ninja friends of yours decided to ravage the jet?!"

Spiderman cringed as he moved back slightly from Logan's holographic figure. It might be just a hologram, but Logan's feral face was still darn scary. "Alright, alright, I get the point! Jeez, no need to get all worked up, you know? The worst thing didn't happen, after all, so you just need to focus on sending me the big bird here."

"Easy for you to say." Logan muttered.

"Oh, come on, are we back to this again?" Peter groaned.

Logan glared at the brunette, which said brunette waved off casually, "So, putting that aside, when is the X-jet coming? 3 days from now, I assume?"

The bearded man scoffed arrogantly, "You're seriously underestimating the jet's speed and brains. It won't take long for it to decipher the coordinates, so Storm's gonna let it go tonight after she bid her favorite jet goodbye." Logan shook his head, chuckling to himself, "Seriously, she needs to find a better subject to fawn over."

"Tonight? So..." Surprise was painted all over Peter's face. Sure, he knew the X-jet had an advance computer system; one that wasn't that far off in comparison to SHIELD's main computer. But he didn't knew it was so advanced that it could decipher the coordinates this fast.

"So the jet should arrive at your place a little bit after dawn tomorrow, give or take a few minutes."

"I...I see." Peter looked down to his lap, seemingly downcast for some reason. Logan noticed this, and was curious to the spider-bitten hero's change of mood. He wasn't one to particularly care about someone's mood swings, though, so he didn't voice his curiosity. Instead, he bid farewell to his comrade-in-arms, "Well, I better get going. We need to prepare the jet and polish it up a bit."

He heard that right, didn't he? "Polish? Why in the name of Abraham Lincoln's beard would you trouble yourselves by polishing the jet?"

"Hey, best look good in front of those Japs, right?" Logan said, smirking before he cut off the connection, leaving Peter to stare at empty space. Peter sighed tiredly, "I swear..." He laid down on his bed with his hands interlaced behind his head, his eyes observing the ceiling and the peeling paint around it. He had a faraway look, as if he was looking at something beyond the ceiling. He sighed again, closing his eyelids in thought.

"So...tomorrow, huh?" He muttered. He opened his eyes, letting his dark brown orbs glisten in the sunlight that came through the closed windows beside his bed. "Well, at least it gave me time to round up things for a bit." He said, reluctantly getting up from his bed with a tired look, "It's gonna be a busy day."

**xoxoxo**

_At the Hokage's office, 6.35 p.m..._

Again, we find Tsunade being half-drowned by the many paperworks in her office. Seriously, rather than paperwork, she'd be happier if she was half-drowned in _sake_.

"_Remind me again why I picked this job...?"_ Tsunade muttered, her right hand grabbing the stamp beside her and proceeded to slam it on one of the thousand paperworks, nearly breaking the desk. She raised it the stamp, only to find that the red ink she stamped the paper with was fading. Frowning, she looked at the stamp in her right hand and noticed that it was running out of its juice. _"Great."_ She let out, annoyed. She pulled the desk's drawer next to her knees and rummaged for an extra bottle of red ink, only to find none.

"_Just peachy."_ She groaned, _"Where's Shizune when you need her? SHIZUNE!"_

Unfortunately, no response came. Tsunade frowned in thought, wondering where her assistant was...before finally face-palming herself, _"Figures. I forgot that I sent her to the hospital to get some files."_ Just then, she suddenly got a marvelous (at least to her) idea, one that should get the paperworks off of her tired shoulder, so to speak. She grinned mischievously, _"Well, now...I can't work without the ink, can I? I'll use this excuse against Shizune next time she saw me."_ She chuckled darkly before turning her comfortable plushy chair around towards the window, _"This time, she can't force me to work. MWAHAHAHA!"_

An evil laugh, unfit for a leader of the Hidden Leaf Village, burst out of her mouth. Yet another Sannin that had a corrupted mind; as if Orochimaru wasn't enough.

"_Err...am I interrupting something?"_

Tsunade immediately ceased her evil laugh at the sudden voice by clamping her hands on her mouth. The voice was male, according to her experience, and the only male she knew who likes to barge in without knocking was the super-pervert Jiraiya. Problem is, Jiraiya usually used the window every time he did barge in, but nothing in her peripheral vision resembled the white-haired Sannin. That meant that the emitter of this new voice came through the door, and the only kind of males she knew who can sneak up on her like that are the ANBU.

But, for the life of her, she couldn't remember any of her ANBUs having such a laidback tone like that. Giving in to the curiosity, she turned her chair around again. To say she was surprised to see Peter, of all people, standing in front of her door was an understatement. Letting out a relieved sigh, she gave him a smirk, _"Actually, I was in the middle of a celebration. But, seeing that my friend's apprentice came here so late in the hour, I assume there's something you need from me?"_

"_On several occasions, I'd ask you to invite into this celebration."_ Peter joked, grinning at Tsunade, _"As much as I would like that, though, I'm here on business."_

"_I see. It's a shame; I thought I'd finally have a drinking buddy."_ She smiled mirthfully. Her eyes stared at Spiderman and ran a short observation on his body, checking his previous wounds which fortunately has closed up, _"So you've healed completely, I see?"_

"_Well, Raibi helped a lot. Usually, wounds like that would've left scars around my body."_ Peter chuckled. A moment later, his eyes suddenly locked with Tsunade's with seriousness backing them up, _"Which brings me to another topic I want to discuss with you, Hokage-sama."_

"_And that would be?"_

"_The nurse that was assigned to take care of me."_

"_Ah, you mean Haruno?"_ Tsunade laughed lightly as she leaned back to her chair and let her arms rest on the armrests, _"Let me guess...you found out that she is Sakura's mother?"_

"_Yeah, among other things..."_ Peter answered, muttering the last part out. Without Tsunade's permission, he pulled a chair in front of Tsunade's desk and sat down. Tsunade herself didn't mind the action and let it be, so Peter continued, _"And...well, first let me ask you this; do you know where Mrs. Yoshino originally came from?"_

Tsunade's eyebrow raised an inch as the question made her curious, _"Why do you ask?"_

"_Just tell me."_ Peter answered, sounding urgent all of the sudden. Tsunade narrowed her eyes at him, wondering why did the brunette suddenly questioned the origin of a nurse he barely knew. She then closed her eyes as she began explaining, _"Well, she was here before I became Hokage. I think it's around the time when the Fourth was still in the office. The files said that she wandered around the Land of Fire together with his current husband, Haruno Masaru, and ended up walking into our village."_

Peter nodded, showing that he was following through Tsunade's explanation. However, it gave birth to another question, _"So before they came to the village, there wasn't any info about their origins or whereabouts?"_

"_Not that I know of."_ Tsunade shook her head negative, _"Why the sudden question? I rather not think that you have a crush on our nurse?"_

"_Like hell I would!"_ Peter suddenly exclaimed, pouting in a way that reminded Tsunade of a certain blond ninja, _"Not only that she's married, but she refused to give me ramen when I'm hospitalized!"_

"_That was my order."_

"_Then I hate you, too."_ Peter finalized, his pout still intact as he folded his arms on his chest. Tsunade sweat-dropped at the brown-haired Jinchuuriki's behaviour, which reminded her too much of her purple-haired friend's childish antics. _'Cynthia...what have you done to your student?'_ She thought, disappointed. She shook her head lightly to clear the sudden grinning face of her old friend that suddenly popped in her mind, then spoke up, _"But seriously, why are you so curious? Do you know her or something?"_

Peter frowned as he looked down to his lap. Tsunade looked at him, interested in what he had to say. Then, after a long pause, Peter lifted his head to speak, _"Hokage-sama, can you keep what we're talking about as a secret?"_

Tsunade's eyebrows shot up in pure surprise, _"S-Sure."_ She got up and made a few handseals, before slamming her hand on the floor. Almost instantly, the familiar hum of the soundproof barrier jutsu resounded throughout the room. After that, she plopped down on her chair once again, _"So, what is it?"_

There was a slight mumble when Peter muttered something, which her ear didn't quite catch. She almost asked again when Peter beat her to the beat, _"Haruno Yoshino and Haruno Masaru are not of this land."_

The sudden statement once again surprised Tsunade; this time it made her slightly cough to contain the shock, _"What? What does that suppose to mean?"_

"_What I mean, is that they're just like me. They are from outside of the Elemental Nations."_ Peter stated, making his meaning clearer with a more obvious kind of speech.

Tsunade, however, continued to stare at Peter with a disbelieving look, even after she gasped out her surprise, _"WHAT? That can't be; the files said that they're wanderers that travels around the Land of Fire! And even if they lied about that, their language is the same as ours!"_ She reasoned.

"_That's because the country that they originated from is Japan. So, obviously, they speak Japanese like you guys do."_ Peter countered, sounding like a lawyer defending his client, _"This is what I've found out when I realized who Yoshino really is. Both Yoshino and Masaru actually belonged to an agency that took care of dimensional monsters problem, called the Digimon Analyzer Tactics Squad, or DATS in short. This agency has worked together with SHIELD before they're finally disbanded because reasons I don't really know of."_

"_Dimensional monsters?"_ Tsunade asked.

"_I don't have much experience about them, either. All I know is that besides this dimension we live in, exists another. The DATS called it the Digital World, where these Digimons lives."_ Peter explained.

Tsunade paused, letting all the information sink in. She finally took in a deep breath, _"Okay...so there __**was**__ something suspicious about them, after all."_

"_You noticed?"_

"_I had my doubts, yes. But I couldn't bring myself to distrust a person such as Yoshino."_

"_I'm not telling you to distrust Yoshino, or anything like that. I just needed to let you know."_ Peter quickly added. Once again, his eyes locked with Tsunade's visibly demanding answers from her, _"Also, another thing I wanted to ask, if it's not too much of a trouble. Do you know how did the two ended up having their surnames turned into Haruno?"_

"_I do, but why the question?"_

"_Their real names are Fujieda Yoshino and Daimon Masaru. I read their profile when I was messing with SHIELD's computer."_

Tsunade's eyebrows creased inwards in confusion, _"...well, I don't really know the details, because like I said this happened in Yondaime's reign. All I know is that when they first arrived here, there was a slight problem since they were homeless. So, more or less, the council had a big discussion to decide who should shelter them for the time being."_ The blonde Hokage leaned forward, putting her elbows on the desk while interlacing her fingers to rest her chin on them, _"In the end, the Haruno clan was appointed, which they accepted whole-heartedly. Things were pretty awkward when they were let in the Harunos; Masaru needing the most time to fit in. It needed a marriage between him and Yoshino to finally get him into the Haruno family."_

Peter laughed, picturing the image where the red-headed Masaru being childishly stubborn and adamant about getting in a stranger's family, _"Riiight, that would've been a sight to see. I assume that things weren't so hot at the Harunos' side, either?"_

"_You could say that."_ Tsunade chuckled, _"The clan head at that time, Haruno Soyokaze, didn't particularly like Masaru. Add the fact that Yoshino was the first one to readily accept her place as a Haruno, that made him somewhat like an adoptive father. And, well, you can piece what happens next when Masaru proposed to Yoshino yourself."_

"_I can see a soap opera, if anything."_ Peter snickered, trying (and failing) to contain his amusement.

"_True, that."_ Tsunade complied. After a round of chuckle exchange between her and Peter, silence reigned the room once again. Breaking said silence, Tsunade said, _"I'll keep those two's secret a secret for the time being. Unless they wanted to reveal this themselves, no one will know about this other than you and me."_

Peter nodded, _"I guess that's for the better. Oh, and I forgot to tell you that they both had two teammates whose whereabouts are still unknown."_ Peter quickly said, mentally banging his head on a wall for forgetting about this detail, _"It's not my problem, but I was thinking if you could...I don't know, send a search party to find them, or something. Of course, if Yoshino gives her consent."_ He said. He wanted to help the maroon-haired nurse, finding himself being sympathetic to her problem. Yes, he couldn't actually sympathize with her, but he knew the sadness that transpired.

"_I'll think about it."_ Tsunade said, finalizing the deal. Mentally, she smirked, _'That should be a suitable tryout mission for the Nijuu Shoutai group I've assembled.'_

"_Is there anything else? Because if there is, I think I'll set some sake cups to go with it."_ Tsunade asked, her hands itching to grab the secret _sake_ bottle and cups from the secret compartment under her desk; Shizune won't find it there, fortunately for the Fifth Hokage.

"_...there's one last thing."_ Peter said as his face fell, a sudden feeling of homesickness coming over him. Strange, that; he felt homesick even though he was going home. He had no idea of what kind of anomaly this is, but he paid it no mind, either. _"I'm leaving tomorrow morning."_

Tsunade tensed, her itching hand stopped its advance on her beloved _sake _bottle and retreated solemnly. She stared at Peter a bit before letting herself sigh at the tension in the air, _"Already, huh? And here I thought you'd be staying longer, considering the injuries you got."_

Peter chuckled mirthfully, _"Sorry, but I've spent too much time here as it is. My worried aunt will be the least of my problems when I get home."_ He laughed nervously, not knowing how he should ask for the permission to leave the village. Realizing that Tsunade wasn't buying his cheap jokes, he continued with a serious face, _"Tomorrow after dawn, a jet will arrive to pick me up. And before you ask; don't worry, I've requested the jet to be set on auto-pilot to avoid letting people know about this place."_ Tsunade nodded, silently thanking Peter for not forgetting about that.

Nervousness suddenly claimed Peter's body as he then awkwardly scratched his cheek, looking obviously flustered, _"And...can I ask for one small favor?"_

"_What is it?"_ Tsunade questioned.

"_Naruto is not to know about this."_ Peter pointed out, _"I have a feeling that my trip won't be so delightful once he finds out about it."_

"_I can imagine. That idiotic brat would hinder you and probably prevent you from leaving."_ Tsunade chuckled.

"_Which would only make my trip harder than it already is."_ Peter sighed, leaning back on his seat.

Tsunade watched as the brunette in front of her looked strained. She was no mentalist, but if anyone asked for her opinion, she'd say that Peter was trying hard to think of a way to make his leaving more understandable for a certain whisker-marked blond. She couldn't blame him for that; she knew how fast people can bond themselves with Naruto, since she herself experienced it firsthand. And Peter, probably without realizing it himself, was already in Naruto's influential presence, and that left him feeling bad for trying to leave the village. She let herself to smile a small smile, _'Cynthia...it seems you've picked the right student.'_ She thought.

"_All right. I'll do my best to keep Naruto out of this."_ Tsunade said, before smirking, _"But in exchange, I want you to meet me at this building's rooftop first thing in the morning. There's something I want to give you before you leave."_

"_What is it?"_ Peter asked curiously.

"_A secret."_ Tsunade smirked mischievously.

"_For the love of God, please don't let it be a bottle of sake. I can't handle my drinks that well."_

**xoxoxo**

_Meanwhile, with Sakura, two hours later..._

At the time, Sakura was staring at her bowl of donburi while playing with it a bit using her chopsticks, uninterestedly. She visibly sighed, gaining the attention of her parents. Yoshino, curious to what made her daughter sounded so tired, asked, _"Sakura? What's wrong?"_

The pink-haired medic looked up from her bowl, giving her mother a small smile, _"Nothing's wrong, Mom."_

"_Well, it can't be just nothing."_ Yoshino said, _"You've barely touched your dinner. And I cooked myself, too."_ The maroon-haired woman pouted at the end of her sentence, half-heartedly sulking that her daughter wasn't eating the dish she made.

Sakura only smiled at her mother, though her eyes found themselves staring at the rice bowl in front of her not long after that. Yoshino gave her daughter a concerned look, _"Seriously, Sakura, is there a problem? You know you can tell me anything, anything at all."_ She urged.

Sakura's response was to remain silent as she contemplated her mother's words. She **does** have a problem, but...she doubted that telling her mother would make so much of a change. The silence was soon broken by a loud groan that was too heavy for a female to make. That only meant one thing, of course.

"_Jeez, Yoshino, don't get so wrapped up about it."_ The male said, putting down his glass of orange juice, _"It's probably just a guy problem."_

"_Masaru! That's just the more reason she needs to talk about it!"_ Yoshino scolded.

Haruno Masaru; formerly known as Daimon Masaru, member of the disbanded DATS agency and one true heckuva laid back father. His description includes the fact that he's a tempramental brunette with the top back end of his short, brown hair being tied into a tiny ponytail. He still looked pretty young, despite his age which betrayed his looks. At the time, he was wearing a simple T-shirt and a pair of blue jeans; a casual choice of clothes since he was staying home the whole while.

Oh, and did I mention that he's tempramental? I did? Well, add to the fact that Yoshino pretty much acted like a mother rather than a wife—in the manner that she always scolds the man—to him, you get one parental squabble.

Mentally, Sakura laughed at the exchange between her mother and father. _'While it's true that this problem is about a guy, Dad's got the wrong idea.'_ She thought. Watching her parents entering a conversation regarding the importance of a daughter's problem (whilst still counting the problem's intensity if it's a "guy problem), Sakura finally caved in.

"_Well...there is one thing that's been nagging the back of my mind."_ Sakura said, gaining the attention of the two squabbling parents. Seeing that she had their attention, Sakura continued, _"There's this...friend I have that's going to leave the village. No, before you ask, he's not abandoning the village like Sasuke-kun did; that's a different case."_ Sakura added, seeing her parents' faces contorting into disbelief, _"I need to let him leave quietly, otherwise another friend of mine would do all he can to prevent him from leaving. The problem is, I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing by not telling the truth to my other friend."_ She finished, looking mournfully as if regretting something.

Seeing the look, Yoshino went around the table and suddenly enveloped her daughter in a comforting hug. Sakura was caught off-guard, but she leaned in to the hug. _"Sweetie, I think that's something you should decide yourself. We can't tell you what you should do."_

"_I know. But it's all so frustrating."_ Sakura said.

"_If it's such a downer, then just tell the truth."_ Masaru suggested.

"_That'll mess it up even further."_ The pinkhead answered.

"_Well..."_ Masaru trailed off. It was the first time that his daughter had such a confusing problem; one that even he didn't have an answer to. He groaned, feeling the frustration creeping his own head. _"Who's this friend you got that's going to leave the village, anyway?"_ He asked, trying to change the subject.

"_The same guy who helped my team in our mission to retrieve Sasuke-kun. His name is Peter; Paruka Peter, to be precise."_ Sakura answered, before giggling slightly remembering the incident when Peter introduced himself to the Rookies. Yoshino herself giggled as she remembered **her** experience with the notorious ramen-loving patient.

Masaru, not knowing anything about this, raised an eyebrow, _"Okay, I admit that name sounds kinda lame. His surname doesn't sound like something that comes from around here, though."_

"_True, that."_ Sakura nodded after finishing her set of giggles, _"He's a foreigner. Actually, not just any foreigner, as well. He's from the outside; preferably America."_

Hearing his daughter's words, Masaru's eyebrows almost disappeared under his bangs. He froze in shock, not believing anything he just heard. He tried to ask Sakura a question, but it came out as a stutter, _"W-What...? How...is it possible?"_

"_Dad?"_ Sakura asked, not understanding what her father was saying.

"_Sakura, does he have another name? Like, a codename or something like that?"_ Her father suddenly asked, looking desperate all of the sudden. Sakura flinched, not in the scared manner, but more of a surprised gesture. Sakura tried to find the right words as she overcame her surprise, but her mother beat her to it. _"He does."_ Yoshino said, smiling softly at Masaru, _"He's Spiderman. The same one the Avengers has."_

Once again, Masaru froze. This time, however, he trembled as his lower lips quivered, _"I...I see."_

Yoshino smiled seeing her husband's reaction. Pulling away from Sakura, she then tapped her on the shoulder, _"Sakura, it seems we don't have the answer for your problem. But you need to believe in your own actions, and know that we support your decision."_

"_Thanks, Mom."_ Sakura said, smiling as she kissed the elder Haruno's cheek, _"I think I should sleep, now. I'm kind of tired tonight."_

"_You do that, dear."_ Yoshino said, smiling back at her. Sakura nodded and turned to hug her dad and bid him goodnight, _"I'll be in my room, okay Dad?"_ She said to her father, still in the middle of the hug. She could feel her father's hair tickle her ear as he weakly nodded, _"Right. Oyasuminasai__1__, Sakura-chan."_

"_Oyasuminasai, Tou-san."_ The pinkhead replied, letting go of her father and went up the stairs to her room, leaving Yoshino and Masaru in the dining room. As she left, Yoshino turned to the brunette and walked up to him. Masaru himself was still silent as he tried to let all of the information sink in, which he desperately tried to believe.

"_Masaru?"_ Yoshino called him.

"_Is it true?"_ Masaru asked, _"That we're really back in our world?"_

Yoshino's smile turned sad as she pulled a chair to sit right in front of Masaru. She could see that Masaru was trying his hardest to believe that they were back to their world, rather than another dimension. It's hard, she knew. The two of them had let go of the possibility that they weren't in a parallel world and that they still had a way home. They've moved on, having a family with that mindset. To hear that they were wrong...that they really are back in the same human world they once protected...

"_It's true."_ Yoshino answered, _"I knew this when I was assigned to look after Peter. We're really back."_ She put her right hand over Masaru's shaking left one, knowing that this gesture would calm him down, _"I'm sorry. I was planning to tell you earlier, but I couldn't let our Sakura-chan know about the real us, yet."_

Masaru laughed lightly, _"We're really bad parents, huh? Keeping secrets from our own daughter."_

"_I know."_ Yoshino replied, grasping his left hand, _"But there's no need for secrets, anymore. Because it's not just a dream, anymore."_

The trembling stopped, to which Yoshino was grateful. However, soon she felt wetness on her right hand. Yoshino looked at Masaru's face and noticed two lines of tears that glistened as it reflected the lamp above them. She smiled once again, rounding her arms around her husband and pulling him into a hug. Once she did, she could hear him sob. She pressed her head onto his shoulder, mesmerizing how broad it is, _'He really changed. No longer a kid anymore, huh Masaru?'_ She thought. It's true, and not just physically, either. The Masaru in the past would laugh joyfully knowing about this, and make a spontaneous plan to go back home.

Now, he is a mature man who didn't try to hide behind that kind of mask. He now let go of it and cried freely on Yoshino's shoulder. _"That means...Kaa-san and Chika...ugh..."_

"_Yes. We can see them again."_ Yoshino said. She closed her eyes, unconciously tightening her hold on Masaru. In turn, she shed some tears, as well.

_Upstairs..._

'_In the end, I didn't get any good answers.'_ Sakura thought as she entered her room.

Not knowing the scene that has transpired in the dining room under her, Sakura laid down on her bed. She said she was tired, but truthfully, she couldn't sleep. She was too restless to actually close her eyes peacefully. She sighed, _'I'm gonna be bald because of this.'_

Her eyes landed on the frame of Team 7's photograph. Her eyes trailed up and, as usual, observed the picture of her broken team. She unconciously let her eyes drift to the picture of a scowling Naruto, and let a slip of thought pass her mind.

'_Please, Kami-sama, don't let Naruto do anything stupid.'_

**xoxoxo**

_The next day, a bit before sunrise...the separation day._

A sigh escaped Peter's lips, which transformed into a steam-like cloud when it met the chilly air of the morning. He had finished packing last night, which was harder than he though since he had already came to like his apartment. He walked out of his apartment and turned to close the door. Unlike before, he didn't fumble with the keys and locked the door quite quickly. He exhaled, releasing the heavy weight in his chest only for it to refill when he breathed again.

"_For the life of me, I hope no one Naruto doesn't notice me."_ He muttered. Naruto's room was just a floor under his, so he couldn't be noisy, otherwise he'd be found out.

Peter was set for travel with his backpack on his back. His usual outfit was shredded, and he was still cursing himself for ditching the custom-made black jacket that Sakura had bought for him. Thankfully, he still had the Chuunin vest that he had turned into a _haori_ he got back in the Chuunin exam, so he wore that with a red t-shirt underneath it. The t-shirt was one of his own custom-made which he had a smaller version of his spider insignia on the chest area. He wore the same dark blue jeans that he had wore for the previous mission which, unfortunately, was torn in someplaces. Fortunately, it didn't look too bad.

To avoid Naruto seeing him, Peter jumped off from the railing in front of his apartment's door and landed on the ground after doing a frontflip to bleed off some momentum. He was healed completely, so he was back in shape and was able to withstand high falls like that. After landing successfully, he looked around to see if anyone saw him.

The residential area was empty, safe for a stray cat near a dumpster. Peter saw several people walking towards different directions, but they were too far to notice his action. He chuckled, relieved that no one had noticed him yet. _"It's too early for this street to be crowded, after all."_

He sneaked into the landlord's room, picking on the lock and letting himself in. Before you think of anything negative, no, Peter wasn't breaking in to steal. In fact, he had a generously good reason for breaking in like this. He lightly walked towards a counter where the room occupants usually pay their monthly fee. The brunette silently counted the amount he had to pay and put it on the counter. _'Thanks for everything. Signed: Your friendly neighbour, Spiderman.'_ He wrote a note beside the cash and left silently. He didn't bother to lock the door since he wouldn't be there when the landlord noticed that his lock was picked.

"_Right,"_ Peter said to himself, _"now that that's taken care of, I guess the Hokage's building should be my next stop."_ He jumped high and skillfully leaped from rooftops to rooftops. _"I wonder what the Hokage has in store for me."_

As he leapt to Tsunade's promised meeting point, his curiosity grew larger. Could it be a present, perhaps? He knew he's too old for presents, but that didn't keep him from hoping. He sweat-dropped when the image of Tsunade handing him a present box, but when he opened it the box was filled with _sake_ bottles. Suddenly eager to see what she wanted to give him, he sped up by activating his lightning chakra on his legs. All of the sudden, he had a strange tunnel vision; one with a bright line which strangely looked like...a path?

Unconciously, he followed the path and found himself evading an electric pole in front of him. He frowned, _'I didn't notice that pole. Strange, I kept my eyes open in case I run into something, yet I didn't see it...'_ He shook his head, finding this as another mystery which he couldn't answer, yet.

He found himself instinctively leaping to the top of the Hokage's building, catching sight of an already waiting Tsunade near the railing. He grinned as he landed there with the grace of a parkour artist. _"You're early."_ Tsunade commented, smirking at the brunette.

"_The early bird gets the worm, right?"_ Peter said, keeping his grin on his face, _"Though, that's not to say I would want a worm."_

Tsunade chuckled, amused by Peter behavior. She checked him and noticed the self-turned Chuunin _haori _he was wearing, _"I see you've finally let yourself known as a Chuunin."_

"_What, this?"_ Peter asked, holding up the _haori_ he was wearing, _"Naw, it's just that I don't have anything else to wear. My costume's nothing more than a pile of cotton and thread by now. After all, I could never be a true Chuunin, you know."_ Peter laughed, _"It's almost unfair for the others because I was promoted to Chuunin without going to the Academy."_

"_Really? I thought you did pretty well for a non-ninja fellow."_ Tsunade concided, _"Even the other Kages had their attention on you."_

"_I'm honored."_ Peter bowed with mock humility.

"_Quit with the fake attitude, brat."_ Tsunade said, her humorous tone betraying the words she said, _"Like I said before, I have something for you."_ At this Peter began grinning like a 5 year old with a jar of candy. He practically skipped his way to Tsunade, _"What is it? What is it?"_

Tsunade snorted, finding Peter's attempt to be childish so similar to that of his mentor. _"Will you settle down? I'm getting to it."_ Just then, the twin-tailed blonde Hokage took out a cloth pouch the size of a human's head. Peter eyed the pouch curiously, wondering what's in it. Tsunade paused just as she began to rummage her hand in the pouch, and looked at Peter straight in the eye, _"You know...you've really helped us regarding the problem with Sasuke."_

"_Ahahah...nah, I got my own butt kicked by him, so I doubt I was much of a help."_ Peter said, trying to be humble.

"_No, really, you have."_ Tsunade stressed out, _"I mean, things got better after Cynthia sent you here. At first, I wasn't going to sign Naruto up for the Chuunin exam, but you came around and it happened. And now, he's a Chuunin. You've also changed that Hyuuga girl, and her father can't seem to stop pestering me for a chance to see you. It seems he wanted to thank you personally."_

"_His older daughter got it covered for him, so it's pretty much okay. I didn't do it to get thanks from anyone, anyway."_ Peter said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

Tsunade smiled; at least Peter learned humility, that she was glad of. She chuckled, _"Well, you pretty much earned your credit by doing all these deeds. And I think more 'thank you's will come from a certain Haruno couple when I dispatch that search team you suggested."_ She began pulling out an object from the pouch she was holding, _"But...more than that, you've earned your place in Konoha. I can see that you're really a hero in your hometown, since you did the same thing for us here. As a thank you, please treat Konoha as your second home, if you'd like to."_

Peter laughed shakily, _"T-Thanks, but I don't think all these gratefulness is necessary. Besides, I'm just a backup member."_

Tsunade shook her head slowly, _"No,"_ She finally pulled the object from the cloth pouch, and Peter's eyes widened at the sight, _"You're more than that."_

Peter's body trembled—shook, even—when he saw what Tsunade was holding. _'It...it can't be...'_ He thought disbelievingly. He thought his eyes were playing tricks, but that was impossible because he took coffee this morning so he shouldn't be drowsy already. But, if so...that long, red cloth and the way it swayed in the wind...the metal plate bolted on it...moreover, that insignia.

A Konoha _hitai-ate_, a forehead protector.

But Peter knew that it was more than just a simple forehead protector. It was a sign; one that tells that he's a shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato. A sign of trust and friendship between all of the ninja inhabitants of the village. If so, then this forehead protector was his?

"_Well? Don't just stand there and take it already!"_ Tsunade said, pushing the forehead protector into Peter's unexpecting arms. Peter stuttered as he tried to form a question, _"Why...are you giving me this?"_

"_Do you really need to ask?"_ Tsunade asked back, grinning widely at him, _"Like I said, you've earned your place not only in this village, but in your comrades' hearts as well. And when that happens, you are one of us. And now,"_ Tsunade put her hand on the higher male's shoulder. She almost looked like a queen, promptly declaring the ascension of a mere soldier into knighthood. That wasn't so far off what was happening, _"With the power bestowed to me as Hokage, I declare that you two, Paruka Peter and Spiderman, two heroes as one man, a shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato!"_

Peter stared at Tsunade with wide eyes, still not believing everything that was happening. He was so shell-shocked that he didn't even care about the "Paruka" part which always annoyed him to no end. He couldn't believe it...him, a shinobi? Is it really true? Or more precisely, is it right? He couldn't be, that was what he believed. He's not someone one would expect of a ninja. He's not the strongest one out there to be a ninja; heck, all he does was rounding up petty criminals back home. To be a ninja..._ 'Can I really do it?'_ He wondered.

However, this wasn't a matter of choice. It wasn't his choice to make. No, that's not right...he **had** chosen this path when he accepted the mission Madam Web gave him. At first, he chose this path because he needed some time away; it was because of his selfish needs. As time went by, he knew it wasn't just about him, anymore. He was being entrusted with a position; a position as a fellow Konoha shinobi. It's not a matter of choice.

It's a matter of trust. He's being trusted with an amount of power one would kill for. What was he going to do? He had always believed in what his Uncle Ben taught him. The man had been the greatest father figure he could ever dreamt of. He was wise; wiser than Peter. That day when Ben's words became his dictum, his _nindo_, was also the day he died. Peter realized that, Ben probably knew that somehow, he'd be killed that day. That's why he left Peter with his last teaching. That's why, he'll follow his _nindo_, his ninja way.

'_With great power...'_ Peter gripped the forehead protectore tightly, as if fearing it would disappear into thin air, _'Comes great responsibility.'_

"_Thank you, Hokage-sama...for trusting me with this."_ Peter said more seriously, _"I swear, I won't betray your trust."_

"_You better not."_ Tsunade said, smirking once again as to lift up the seriousness in the air, _"Now, since I now know that you won't abandon the village, I assume you'll be back here soon?"_

"_Yeah."_ Peter nodded.

"_Well, then, get going! I thought you have a plane to catch."_ Tsunade barked what sounded like an order. Peter laughed openly at her so-called order, shaking his head, _"Yeah, I should get going now. I don't want anyone noticing I'm going, especially not a certain whiskered smartass."_

"_WHO'RE YOU CALLING SMARTASS, BASTARD?!"_

Peter blinked. His ears caught a voice, and it was strangely familiar. 'That wasn't the Hokage's voice...' He thought. He searched for the source of the voice desperately, fearing for the worst. His fears was proven when he caught sight of a familiar black and orange jumpsuit...yeah, you read it right. Through it all, Peter formed words slowly, _"Oh...crap."_

There, standing on one of the curved pillars that was build on the perimeter of the Hokage's building near the Hokage mountain with his back towards the sun, was Naruto.

And damn, does he looked pissed.

Peter's jaw fell agape, and his eyes turned to Tsunade accusingly. Seeing the stare, Tsunade shrugged innocently, _"Don't look at me, I kept my lips sealed like I promised."_

"_Then, it seems..."_ Peter began, looking mysterious as his bangs shielded his eyes, _"The walls DO have ears."_ He groaned. His plan was going so well, too. He pocketed his newly-acquired forehead protector, knowing that this wasn't the time to celebrate.

"_What will you do now?"_ Tsunade asked, crossing her arms under her chest, making that seemingly impossible feat possible. Peter fell silent for a while, analyzing the situation before finally coming to a conclusion.

"_Isn't it obvious?"_ Peter said, grinning like the wolf he had became, _"I'll run like a boss."_ He turned to Naruto, cupping his hands around his mouth as he yelled out, _"Hey, Naruto!"_

The spiky-haired blond blinked in surprise, before focusing his attention on Peter. Noticing that he had Naruto's attention, Peter did what most people wouldn't do in front of a pissed-off Jinchuuriki. Now, that wasn't a problem for Peter, since he himself is a Jinchuuriki, but anyway...what he did...was to raise his middle finger at Naruto and stick his tongue out at him, _"CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, WHISKERS!"_

A nerve popped itself visibly on Naruto's forehead, as he inwardly growled. Tsunade sweat-dropped at Peter's choice of action, _"If you were really going to run, you shouldn't piss him off more."_

"_Nah, if I didn't, it'd be boring."_ Peter said. Realizing that Naruto was moving his hands and fingers into his favorite cross-fingered handseal, Peter laughed nervously, _"Uh oh, it seems he's going to BLOW!"_ He turned around and began running away. He caught sight of Konoha's main gate location being straight from his current position and grinned as he thought, 'I call for a drag race!'

"_Well, I apologize for my brazen escape, but see ya later, Hokage-sama!"_ He said as he jumped to the railing. Turning around, he noticed Naruto getting ready to call out his jutsu. Contrary to what normal would do, Peter laughed out loud as he then yelled like that of his dark side, _"LET'S PARTY!"_ Before backflipping and free-falling off from the railing.

At the same time, a blond bellowed loudly, _"TAJUU KAGEBUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"_

(insert song: UVERworld – Core Pride)

"_Heh...He's truly something else."_ Tsunade muttered, just as an army of orange-wearing blonds dashed past her, making the wind itself blow her hair in the direction they were going.

Peter fell down, cherishing the soothing feeling of the wind blowing around him. He looked at where he left off and noticed a swarm of Naruto copies jumping off from the Hokage's building. He grinned, somehow finding this explosion of adrenaline a near pure bliss.

Knowing he had to pick it up a pace if Naruto was chasing him with that huge amount of clones, Peter spun his body around and shot a web line which stuck itself on a nearby building, then proceeded to web-swing himself to the direction of the gate.

However, Peter noticed that, as he swung, several more clones made themselves known as they came out of their hiding spot. Some were clinging to a wall, while others probably used a _henge_ to hide themselves on the rooftop so that Peter didn't notice them before when he fell. Peter's eyes widen as he observed all of the clones, 'When the hell did he make them? Were they prepared before this?' He thought in amazement, before chuckling to himself, 'It seems my plan wasn't flawless, after all.'

"_CHARGE!"_ The whole Naruto army yelled out as they all flew towards Spiderman from all directions. Peter was surprised by the blond's control over the clones, but it only served to excite him more. As the blonds closed in on him, he activated his Spider Reflex to give him enough time to search for an escape path. He found one; past through the closing wall of clones on his right, there is an alleyway. The gap could lessen the number of clones and bottleneck them the way he wanted. He shot another web line and pulled hard on it, web-zipping through the closing gap the clones made and going into the alley.

However, it seemed that Naruto was one step ahead of him, as the clones also blocked the path past the alleyway. Peter growled, 'Clever boy.' He diverted his path by clinging to the walls on his sides and wall-jumping his way up. A surprise has awaited for him as when he got to the top, another group of Naruto clones—albeit less in numbers—jumped at him. Peter's eyes widen in shock, 'Just how many clones did he make?!'

"_Don't make me do this, Naruto!"_ Peter warned, seeing the clones closing in on him, even as he jumped from a TV antenna and vaulted over them. However, the clones didn't stop, prompting Peter to laugh again, _"Alright! It's your choice!"_ Spinning in the air, Peter raised his right hand as it ignited in lightning, _"Thunder Zap!"_ He electroluted the clones, making them all poof out of existence. He smirked smugly before landing on a rooftop and jumped even higher than before. He controlled his gliding and landed on the ground with the main gate in sight.

However, once again, Naruto stood in his way. Peter grinned, his face sweating after all that maneuver, _"Persistent little bastard."_

In response, Naruto grinned back, _"Where do you think you're going?"_

**xoxoxo**

Sakura had seen what just happened. The problem wasn't believing that it happened, as it concerned Naruto; anything can happen if it concerns Naruto. But her problem was understanding why it happened.

Even as the hundreds of clones flew above her, being lead by a web-slinging brunette, she could only think of how determined Naruto looked (or his clones looked) as they gave chase to Peter. She shook her head, realizing that she needed to stop this before it gets out of hand. She jumped and began running, chasing the clones as they would follow Peter wherever he went to. As she did, she realized she wasn't alone as three other figures joined the run, _"Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji? What are you doing?"_ She asked as she ran.

"_Isn't it obvious?"_ Ino asked back, _"The same thing you're doing!"_

Seeing Sakura's confused look, Shikamaru sighed and elaborated, _"We saw the shadow clone army that Naruto made. It seems that he was chasing Peter, so we decided to go after them and see what's going on."_

"_Oh..."_ Sakura let out, not knowing what else she should say.

"_And it seems we have company."_ Shikamaru added as he looked behind him. Sakura turned her head around while amazingly still keeping track of her run direction. True to Shikamaru's words, a whole group of ninjas were tailing them. By the looks of it, it was the remaining Rookie 9 and Team Gai. She was surprised when she saw Sai, of all people, also being in the crowd. _"You all..."_ Sakura let out, not believing the number of people who also began chasing along with her.

However, the clones she was tailing suddenly burst in a cloud of smoke, and by the number of clones that poofed out of existence, the cloud they made was enormous. It successfully blocked her line of vision. _"Darn! We lost them!"_ Sakura cursed. She stopped, but was surprised when Kiba along with Akamaru ran through the smoke as if it was nothing. _"Kiba? Hey, where are you going?!"_

"_I got their scent!"_ Kiba yelled out without turning, _"They're not far away! But we gotta hurry, it's gonna rain soon!"_

Sakura looked perplexed, before remembering the dog boy's keen sense of smell. She resumed her run and was joined by Hinata on her side, who had her Byakugan active, _"I can see them! N-Naruto-kun and Peter-kun are in front of the main gate!"_

"_The main gate?"_ Sakura asked aloud. If they already reached there...then that meant Naruto was having a final stand out against Peter. The pinkhead shook her head, muttering, _"This is really the worst."_

**xoxoxo**

"_What are you doing, Naruto?"_ Peter asked aloud, his breath a bit heavy after his previous run, _"Or, the more precise question would be, why are you doing this, Naruto?"_

Naruto narrowed his eyes at Peter, not breaking eye contact with him. He then growled out, _"Keh! You think you can lie to me and get away with it? You hid the fact that you're leaving from me, from all of us! I can't believe you did that!"_

Peter's own eyes narrowed at Naruto, his dark brown orbs darkening, _"I have my reasons. One of them was to prevent you from doing something stupid like this."_ He gritted his teeth as he tried to control his breathing, _"I can't let you know, otherwise you'd try and stop me like this. I know how you are, Naruto, and that's why I didn't tell you."_

"_Bullshit!"_ Naruto roared out, his temper rising in conjunction with every words that Peter said, _"I thought we were friends, Peter! And friends don't keep things away from each other!"_

'You don't know,' Peter thought sadly, 'how much I just want to say a proper goodbye.' He wasn't going to let Naruto know about that. He was too prideful for that, unfortunately. So, instead of responding to Naruto's insult, Peter clenched his fist in frustration. He noticed several presence which made themselves known as they ran up to him only to stop several feet behind him. Peter heard the loudest voice behind him and realized that it belonged to Kiba, which meant the Rookies has arrived. He ignored them, paying more attention to Naruto in front of him, _"We can go about this all day, Naruto."_ The first drop of rain fell on his nose, trailing down to his nostrils and lips, _"Are you going to let me leave, or aren't you?"_

Naruto's response was to drop into his battle stance. Peter smirked, seeing his answer being displayed in front of him, _"Fine."_ He said as he dropped into his own battle stance. They both looked at each other, eyes glaring at one another and a clash different emotions within their own respective minds.

Sakura looked at both of her teammates with a frightened look. Frightened, not because their very presence scared her, or the fierce look on their faces that gave her shivers. No, she was frightened **for** them, and what would happen if she doesn't stop their fight. She didn't want this to end up like how it did with Sasuke. It was the same, Naruto fought against Sasuke, and look where it took them. _'I have to stop this!'_ Sakura thought determinedly. Before she could say anything, however, she was stopped by Lee who had his left arm outstretched in front of her.

"_Lee?"_ Sakura questioned, _"What are you doing?"_

"_I know what you're trying to do, Sakura-san."_ Lee said, giving her a knowing glance, _"But please bear with it and let them fight. It's better for us to stay out of their youthful man-to-man fight."_

"_But...!"_ Sakura tried, but soon she felt a hand clamp down on her left shoulder. She looked back and was greeted by Sai's pale face. Sai shook his head, _"I'm sure Naruto is trying to say something."_ He said. He had gotten past his awkward feelings for his teammates, and now he was comfortable enough to call them by name without adding the honorary suffixes.

"_What're you saying?"_ Sakura asked.

"_I read in a book that men are prone to fight rather than talk about what they want to say."_ The artist explained, getting a blank look from Sakura who looked at him with a "dafuq" expression. He sighed, _"What I'm trying to say is, that we can't interfere with this fight. Otherwise, whatever Naruto is trying to say to Peter would be left unsaid."_

Sakura fell silent. Once again, she felt helpless as she couldn't do anything about the impending fight. To make matters worse, unlike the fight between Naruto and Sasuke, she couldn't stop the both of them anymore. _"I understand."_ Sakura said, finally. Her inner thoughts, however, was in turmoil, _'Kami, please don't let them take it too far.'_

Peter laughed lightly as he dropped even lower into his battle stance, _"Don't blame me after this is all finished."_ Peter said, warning Naruto of the impending battle. Naruto, taking the brunette's warning as a taunt, smirked at the web-slinger, his fists clenching even harder, _"Likewise, don't underestimate me, webhead!"_

At that point, there was something that clicked inside both Peter and Naruto. Something, something inside their very souls that exacted the maniacal grin that they made before they dashed towards each other with their fists cocked back. Even as they skidded to a halt to punch, that grin remained. It was disturbing, yet for the two of them they could only shake in excitement as they exchanged consecutive blows.

The grin even disturbed Raibi, who was watching from inside Peter's mind. He frowned deeply, **'That can't...it can't be!'** He growled, grasping his chest area with his paw, **'Kyuubi...did you really do it?'**

Back in the real world, the fight continued. It was amazing that the blows they traded mirrored each other. Naruto's right fist flew towards Peter, only to be stopped by the brunette's left fist which slammed into Naruto's fist. Dramatically, it was as if a mini-shockwave formed every time their fist connected. It was the same for the following barrage of fists, as well.

"_A-Amazing...!"_ Neji said, his Byakugan activated, _"Their cancelling each other's punches with chakra. It's similar to Jyuuken, in a way."_ The others could only look in awe as the two really fought like a human and its shadow in a mirror. It wasn't just because they agreed not to interfere that they stayed out of the fight, but it was also they were amazed by the two fighters movements.

Peter blocked a vicious left hook that Naruto threw and smirked, _"You're open!"_ He said as he lifted his left leg and proceeded to ram his knee to Naruto's unprotected stomach. Naruto doubled over in pain, and Peter took this chance to made a somersault throw by vaulting over Naruto and grabbing his shoulder, then completing his somersault by landing and throwing Naruto up to the sky. _"All right! The path's open for me!"_ Peter joyfully exclaimed.

Perhaps he spoke to soon, because after Naruto recovered from the throw in mid-air, he made a single shadow clone and _henge_'d it into a Fuumashuriken and threw it at Peter. Thankfully, his spider-sense noticed it coming from a mile away, and Peter dropped to the ground to dodge the oversized shuriken. He was just a hair away from the shuriken as it flew past his head. As it missed, the shuriken transformed back into a Naruto clone and attacked Peter with a jumping side kick. Peter jumped to meet the Naruto clone halfway through the kick, and ignited his left hand in lightning and rammed his charged fist into the clone's chest, _"Raiken!"_

The clone dissapeared with a puff of smoke. Peter looked back at the now landing Naruto with a grin on his face, _"Well, Naruto, it seems that nothing is between me and my exit. I guess I'll be saying goodbye, now. TTFN, ta ta for now, and all that stuff!"_

However, Naruto had other plans, _"Not so fast!"_ He made a cross-fingered handseal once again, charging up a generous amount of chakra, _"Tajuu Kagebunshin no Jutsu!"_ In an instant, Naruto summoned yet another army of clones; this time the army had Peter boxed in with nowhere to go. Peter groaned, _"Oh, come on! This again? Don't you have any other jutsu up your sleeve?"_

Although he meant it as a taunt, the numerous Naruto clones shook their head without missing a beat. Peter sweat-dropped, _"Figures. Well, then, I call for a ninja hippy control!"_ In turn, he brought his own hands into the same cross-fingered seal Naruto made. Naruto's eyes widened as it meant only one thing; a counter-attack, _"Tajuu Kagebunshin no Jutsu!"_

As if to mock Naruto, an army of Peter clones materialized as a counter to the Naruto clones. All of them had a smug grin on each of their faces, _"Now...disperse!"_ Obeying the original's command, the Peter clones dashed into different directions and attacked the surrounding Naruto clones; Peter himself charging forward not a second later.

The onlookers had their jaws dropping to the level it would unhinge themselves. Kiba could only utter a single word, _"C-Chaos..."_

"_You said it."_ Ino responded, her face having the same disbelieving look all of them had.

There were battle cries, sounds of punches and kicks being traded, and taunting insults being exchanged; the latter was amusing for the Rookies. In the end, after the clearing of clones with a gigantic cloud of smoke, it revealed Peter and Naruto in a kunai saberlock, glaring at each other. Their strength cancelled each other out, but Naruto's reaction was faster than Peter had expected and it gave the blond a chance to kick the brunette away and sent him skidding back. Peter grunted as he recovered and rolled from the blow. Now, both fighters were panting after the continuous exhange of Taijutsu. Though, through it all, Naruto was still able to speak loudly, _"Hah...hah, is that all you got?! You're not even serious, Peter, and I know why! Do you know?!"_

Peter looked at the blond who was clearly taunting him. He kept silent, which prompted Naruto to speak again, _"The reason you're not even taking me seriously..."_ The whisker-marked boy raised an accusing finger at the kneeling older brunette, _"Is because you're not seriously thinking of leaving this village!"_

Peter's breath hitched. Is that true? Does he really have second thoughts of leaving this village? He couldn't be; after all, it wasn't like he was going to leave and never come back. If so, then why? Why did he feel that fighting Naruto was very hard to do? Did the blond got stronger already?

'**Peter...'**

'Raibi?' Peter blinked, 'What is it?' His tenant sounded...angry. A growl escaped the Bijuu's lips as he spoke again, **'Be careful. I think that something happened to Naruto.'**

'Something happened to Naruto?' Peter repeated, not really understanding the wolf's meaning, 'What do you mean?'

'**Yesterday, I felt a slight burst of chakra from Naruto's body. I know that feeling, and it's the activation of the **_**Meiton: Ikari no Kengen**_**.'** Raibi said, sounding even more upset. Peter creased his eyebrows in confusion, '_Meiton..._that's the Manifestation of Rage you talked about, right?' Seeing his Bijuu nod, Peter continued, 'Then what are you trying to tell me? That the Naruto in front of me isn't the real him?'

'**It's possible. I mean, Kyuubi's influence is greater than any of the Bijuu. Add the fact that Naruto seemed...changed, perhaps the dark side succeeded in consuming Naruto as a whole.'** Raibi growled. His anger reached its limit and his eyes turned into the angry red-slitted blue orbs, **'If this is really what happened, then we must defeat Naruto, no matter what.'**

Peter looked at Naruto, who was dropping back into his battle stance while still having that determined look on his face. True, when Peter think about, it all made sense. Peter **did** felt that Naruto had gotten stronger, somewhat. Perhaps this wasn't the real Naruto, after all? Or is he... 'Raibi, I think that's still Naruto.' He mentally said.

'**What makes you say that?'** Raibi questioned, curious to what Peter had in mind.

'I'm not sure.' Peter's eyes narrowed at Naruto, his hands inching towards each other and made a cross-fingered handseal yet again, 'But I intend to find out.' Naruto noticed the movement and smirked, moving his hands in the same manner. Both called a single shadow clone. In their minds, they only have one plan. One plan to find out where this fight was going. One jutsu.

As Naruto's clone began spinning the chakra that the original Naruto was exuding, so did Peter's clone as the original did the same. As the chakra spun, and spun, and spun until it formed a sphere of mini-tornado—whilst Peter's was shooting out lightning from it—they dispelled their clones. Peter began a stare contest against Naruto, and desperately tried to search for Naruto's real intention. He realized that Naruto wasn't the type to do meaningless things. Whatever his intention is, Peter swore he'll find it.

'Tell me, Naruto...' Peter thought as they once again dashed towards each other, their respective Rasengan in hand. Naruto had a serious expression on his face, added with a slight frown that his lips made. Every step they took splashed a puddle of water, which got thrown everywhere in conjunction with the mini-tornado in their hands. 'Tell me...' Peter cocked his right hand back as Naruto did with his, 'What you're aiming for.' This time, as a reminder of the clash they had during the Chuunin exam, they clashed once again.

"_RASENGAN!"_

"_RASEN INAZU_ (Spiral Lightning)_!"_

Once again, they clashed. Like before, the amalgam of the two jutsu brought forth a storming effect, as if the rain that had poured down wasn't enough. A tornado of spinning chakra clashed with each other, greeting one another as a twin and a failed copy. As one tried to overpower the other, a bright light enveloped the two fighters; the light shone so brightly that anyone else watching them should shield their eyes, or suffer from temporary blindness.

**xoxoxo**

_Time pauses..._

In the middle of the light, the body of the two fighters kept fighting. However, their soul was somewhere else, in a more peaceful setting. In a world filled with light, stood the very fighters that were clashing their jutsu just now. This was the effect of the clashing of two jutsu, where their soul was given another place to engage a conversation. Peter—or rather, the projection of his soul—raised his head as he locked his eyes with Naruto's, a questioning look on his face. _"Naruto...is there something you want to say?"_

Naruto paused. He couldn't trust his mouth to form the right words, or at least as right as he wanted it to be. He opened his mouth, but didn't start to talk until a while. Peter waited patiently, as he knew that somehow, their time in this astral world was limited.

"_Why?"_ Naruto finally asked.

"_Why what?"_ Peter asked back, a bit annoyed that the blond was beating around the bush, _"Look, I don't know what's bothering you, but I can't help you unless you tell me what your problem is."_

Naruto steeled his resolve and raised his head high, taking a deep breath and poured out his nagging thoughts while desperately putting into words, _"Why did you decide to leave us?"_

Peter blinked, _"Naruto..."_

"_Was it something we did? Do you hate us for what we put you through?"_ Naruto pushed on, riddles after riddles coming out of his mouth as he clenched his hands. Peter looked sadly at the blond. This is exactly what he wanted to avoid; a misunderstanding. He couldn't outrightly explain to him how it wasn't his or anybody's fault. It's just something he needed to do.

"_Hey, look here."_ Peter said, gaining the blond's attention, _"What I'm doing now, I do because of my own decision. It has nothing to do with you guys, and it's definitely not because of something you guys did."_

"_But...!"_ Naruto pressed on. His argument lost its fuel, though, and his raised hand fell to his sides again. His eyes drifted to his feet, making him look downcast for some reason. _"I'm not strong enough. I couldn't bring Sasuke back, and he would've killed us all if you weren't there! What if something like that happens again?! What am I supposed to do?"_ He grabbed his head as he was overwhelmed by his own frustration. _"I'm not YOU! I'm nowhere near as strong as you are! I could never be..."_

Unknown to Naruto, Peter had closed the distance between them. The brunette put his hand on the blond's head, _"Naruto."_ He said as Naruto flinched in surprise. He gave the blond a sincere smile as the whisker-marked Jinchuuriki raised his eyes to look at the taller male, _"Believe in yourself."_

**xoxoxo**

_Time starts, once more..._

An explosion, powerful enough to blow the two Jinchuurikis away, and forceful enough to shake the whole area. Peter skidded further into the village, near the onlookers that were the Rookies, while Naruto rolled painfully towards the main gate.

To all the audience, the sequence between the clash of the two Rasengan and the powerful explosion that followed happened in a blink of an eye. They didn't know what had transpired in the middle of that light; that remained a secret to the two Jinchuuriki. Both of them groaned as they once again stood up and assumed battle stance once more. All the Rookies were now getting restless, seeing the fatigue that Peter was showing. Naruto wasn't any better, either; he stumbled when he first got to his feet.

Sakura was at the verge of breaking, _"Stop it...just stop it, you two!"_ She her hands around her as she tried to hug herself in desperation.

As always, her voice remained unheard. Or so it seemed, because this time, she got a reaction. _"Sorry, Sakura."_ Peter said, apologizing to her without actually looking at her. The pinkhead raised her head, her eyes founding themselves locking to the red spiral on the back of Peter's _haori_, _"But this is something the two of us needs to settle. If we stop now..."_ Peter raised his voice as he shouted out, _"Then we won't understand anything between the two of us, right Naruto?!"_

The pink-haired Haruno whimpered, realizing that she was once again in a helpless state. Peter smiled, his hands drifting to his right pocket and pulled out his red-clothed forehead protector. All the ninjas present was surprised by this, and they once again paid attention to Peter's every move. The brunette finally put on his forehead protector so that the metal plate was on his forehead, his hands tightening the binding at the back of his head as the cloth circled his head. He closed his eyes as he did the final touch of pulling down the ends of the cloth, tightening it even further so that it wouldn't fall off. He opened his eyes and a look of determination passed his face, and he grinned, _"This is the last one."_

Naruto seemed to get the idea. He, too, grinned at his foreign friend, _"Yeah. The final part of the Arachnid's Goodbye Parade!"_

Peter laughed, _"I like the sound of that."_ He crouched low, ready to sprint at anytime, _"Let's make a deal, Naruto."_

"_A deal?"_ The blond asked, confused.

"_If I can pass you, you'll let me go willingly."_ Peter declared, his grin widening as it threatened to spli his face in two, _"But if you can stop me...I'll cancel my flight."_

It might be the way he made the deal sounded like. It might be the way he suggested such a tempting reward that always made anyone agree to the deal. Heck, it might be how he could even suggest to make a deal. But, somehow, it sparked—ignited—a flame of competition inside Naruto. He laughed a carefree laugh, then shouted back at his companion, _"Well, let me say one thing to that!"_ Once again, for his own sake, he formed the infamous cross-fingered handseal, _"You won't pass!"_

Peter's eyes widened at the words, remembering the time he said the exact words when he put himself between Sasuke and Naruto. He smiled; Naruto is the most ironic person he had the pleasure of knowing. Becoming even more determined than before, he ignited his lightning chakra on his legs and it nearly bursted with lightning bolts. He tilted his head and looked behind him, his eyes searching for one pink-haired medic, _"Sakura!"_

Sakura perked up at the sound of her name being called. She raised her head, and nervously answered, _"Y-Yeah?"_

A confident smirk climbed up to the web-slinger's face. His eyes held several emotions; she noticed that there was a trace of sadness between several other emotions. He then said, with a voice that told her that he knew—he **knew**—that he was going to win the deal, _"Take care of the idiot, will you?"_ Sakura gasped as she realized what Peter's words meant.

It wasn't a question, as he didn't give her time to answer. It wasn't a question, since he had quickly dashed away spraying water towards the lot of them just by the impact of his feet. It wasn't a question, because by the look of his face he seemed to already know her answer.

It was a request. One that he asked to her as a friend. Sakura smiled shakily; her tears were being pushed back as she tried to understand that this, the whole incident, truly is a farewell for the web-slinging brunette.

Between the fast steps that Peter did, Naruto's shadow clones formed once again, making their final stand against him. Then, like an army of an empire, like a gigantic wave of orange tsunami, like a group of American Football players consisting of lines and linebackers only, they charged. Peter clicked his tongue when he realized that the number was too much for him to take on.

'But I can't let myself to be stopped here. I'll have to go through them...' Peter thought, putting in more chakra into his legs, 'Faster than light!'

Again, the mysterious tunnel vision appeared again in Peter's eyes. Like last time, he saw the path of light being shown to him; this one being even more complex than the last one. 'What exactly is this?' He thought. Then, he had another thought, 'Raibi...this is your doing, isn't it?'

'**Nice of you to think like that.' **Raibi said, smirking, **'This is an ability accustomed to you as a Jinchuuriki that holds me. You've always instilled my chakra into your legs to make you faster, didn't you?' **The Bijuu asked, **'This isn't the level of speed that a normal human could control. By entering this level of speed, you automatically activated another ability. This is the ability to see through the path you're supposed to take; the ability to take on the path carved by light.'**

Raibi's smirk turned into a grin, **'The ability to see the path called Daylight.'**

'Daylight...' Peter mused. He smirked, knowing what he was supposed to do with this newfound ability. A wall of clones rushed in towards him, determined to stop him then and there. However, the wall wasn't tight, and there was several loopholes in the defenses. Peter noticed this when his eyes registered the Daylight path branched off into different directions, giving him several options of twists and turns he could make. He grinned as he ran up to a clone, only to swerve around it evading an incoming punch; all the while following the path in his eyes.

The path he went by almost resembled a lightning arc, and he made the same maneuver as he ran towards another set of clones and successfully evaded them in the process. The real Naruto couldn't believe what he was seeing, or to be precise, what he **couldn't** see. All that Peter is was a blur of green and blue as his _haori_ trailed behind him, skillfully evading his many clones while quickly making short work through his clone army. Naruto gritted his teeth, _'At this rate, he'll get pass me in no time!'_ A burst of chakra later, and then Naruto was covered by Kyuubi's chakra; while not necessarily forming into the Bijuu cloak, _"I'm not losing to you!"_ He declared proudly.

In the audience group, Neji's transformed eyes widened, _"This is...it's the same chakra like when he fought me in the Chuunin Exam!"_ He exclaimed, his voice clearly laced with shock and worry at the revelation. In the back, Shikamaru, who had remained silent the whole time, began to see Naruto's intention, _"So, he plans to increase his speed tremendously by using that chakra, just like when he fought Neji back in the exams. He must've noticed Peter's increasing speed..."_ He deducted, while mentally adding,_'Nice choice of action.'_

Sakura, hearing this, could only hold her hands as if in prayer, _'Naruto...!'_

Peter had just swerved his way pass several more clones when he saw the real Naruto, covered with Kyuubi's chakra which flickered like flames, dashing to meet him. _"I'll take you down, Peter!"_ The blond roared. Peter narrowed his eyes, clicking his tongue in desperation, _"Just try."_ He muttered. In his eyes, the Daylight path had opened several paths that he could take, but most of them pointed to the direction where he needed to go around Naruto or run to his sides.

'**Don't take the side routes.'** Raibi ordered calmly, **'That chakra isn't just for show. Naruto's extracting Kyuubi's chakra to increase his own speed to the level you are now, so it's pointless to try and overrun him.'**

Peter nodded, a confident making its way up to his lips, 'I suppose you have a plan for this?'

Raibi sighed, **'Try to be independent for once.'** He scolded tiredly, **'But I do have a plan. We'll go straight head-on, and side-step Naruto at the last second. His speed might've increased, but in terms of reaction, you're still superior because of your spider-sense.'**

'How am I suppose to side-step him?' Peter asked, his eyes observing Naruto's closing figure and smirked at the sight of the blond who was smirking at him as well.

'**I'm sure you can improvise.'**

'Well, that's helpful.' Peter thought sarcastically. He turned his attention towards Naruto who, in his tunnel vision, was running up towards him with an incredible speed. Peter frowned as he desperately thought of a way to avoid clashing with Naruto again as he knew he'd lose if that was going to be the case. Then, as if the skies heard his prayer, he received an idea, 'I got an idea! Let's try Devil Bat Ghost!'

'**Devil what?'** Raibi's jaw fell agape, hearing the strange name. Peter didn't answer him back; instead, he pushed his speed to the max. Naruto had his arms ready to lunge at Peter and take him down to the ground, and he jumped at the last few feet that separated them. Peter noticed the lunge and put his plan work; making a cut step where his left foot made a short step which pointed him to his left, decreasing his speed for a small instant and tricking Naruto into believing that Peter was trying to go left—in Naruto's case, his right side. Then, he stepped once more with his right foot before initiating a crossover step in which his left foot crossed over to his right and once again resumed his previous speed by stomping hard and jumping forward. It completely took Naruto by surprise.

Though, in Naruto's eyes, that wasn't what surprised him. It started when Peter sped up towards him by pushing his speed to the max. Even at the start of Peter's cut step, Naruto was already seeing some sort of an after-image of Peter's body, which strangely made Peter looked like he was being followed by a phantom. And, as Peter initiated the crossover step, the after-image went off to a different direction; one which Naruto had first thought Peter was going to. The phantom split off from Peter real body with a shining blue blur that had Naruto believing that he had just saw a ghost.

"_G-Ghost..."_ Naruto muttered, left speechless as Peter passed him like the wind does to a house.

Back with the audience, Hinata was left speechless at the scene that happened in front of her. Even her Byakugan failed to keep track of Peter when he did the Devil Bat Ghost, _"I-Incredible!"_

"_He's fast." _Kiba commented, _"Real fast."_

"_Did he just...split off, just now?"_ Ino wondered out loud.

"_No idea."_ Shikamaru answered her, _"But now, one thing's for sure. Peter passed Naruto."_

Now, said brunette had skidded to a halt and stood with his back to the village's entrance. The tunnel vision he had had disappeared along with his super-speed. Peter grinned proudly after realizing that he just got passed Naruto. Inside his mind, Raibi was visibly gaping; a sight that had Peter amused since the blue wolf rarely displayed shock, **'What...How in the blazes did you...when did you learn to do that?'**

Peter's grin widen, if possible, 'I saw this move in an American Football international tournament.' He sheepishly scratched the back of his head, 'Frankly, it's nowhere near as perfect as how the original running back does it.'

Raibi's face contorted from confusion into a gleeful curiosity. He smirked at the human in front of him, **'You're really full of surprises.'**

Peter smirked back to the gigantic wolf, mentally. His real self turned around to look at Naruto, who still stood with his back towards him. He tilted his head to the side curiously, wondering why the blond was being silent all of the sudden. _"Hey, Naruto! You okay back there?"_ He shouted out, wondering if he had hit the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki's pressure point somewhere that it froze him like that.

Fortunately, it wasn't anything like that as Peter noticed Naruto's shaking shoulders. Not realizing what was happening, he called again, _"What do you think? That last move was pretty cool, huh?"_

However, there wasn't any reply whatsoever. Peter raised a curious eyebrow at the lack of response. 'Okay, I can take insults, but I just don't do with the silent treatment.' He thought, growling as he felt like he was ignored by Naruto.

That was not the case. As he stood there staring at Naruto's back, the Rookies who were further inside the village had a full view of what kept Naruto from responding to Peter's call. Surely, it didn't take a Byakugan, a keen sense of smell, or a swarm of overwatching bugs to notice what Naruto was doing. It just needed a pair of good eyes...and a sympathizing heart to couple with it.

Sakura kept her eyes on her blond teammate, feeling a lodge up her heart at the sight, _"Naruto..."_

"_Well...you won. You passed me."_ Naruto suddenly said, his tone unwavering and devoid of the earlier emotions, _"So I guess...I should let you go, huh?"_

Peter kept his face straight as he answered, _"Yeah. That was the deal, after all."_

Naruto fell silent once more. Peter saw how his shoulders shook, and how his head hung low. He chuckled; really, the blond really is a prideful ninja. He even held his ground and went out of his way to show no weakness. At that point, Peter realized one thing. The reason why Naruto seemed stronger when they fought, the reason why the blond laughed too much in that fight in a way that reminded him of Nega-Spiderman himself...

"_Hey, Naruto?"_

"_What?"_ The blond asked back, almost instantly.

Peter chuckled again, amused by how shaky Naruto actually sounded. 'Prideful little kid...' He thought.

"_Crying's fine too, you know."_ Peter said solemnly.

Finally, there was a hitch in Naruto's breath. That hitch, coupled by Peter's words which struck him hard, reduced Naruto into a sobbing boy he always was since his childhood.

The scene was emotional. Sakura, finally letting her tears roll down her eyes, cried silently. Ino joined beside her, her one visible eye had tears rolling off from it, as well. It was certain that the other eye under her side bangs was crying, too. Hinata sniffled at the sight of her blond crush crying so openly like that. Chouji had a slight tear in his eyes, but he rubbed them off. Lee cried what he called "youthful" tears as the atmosphere finally affected him, as well. Neji, Shikamaru and Sai had solemn expressions on their face; Sai's expression being as solemn as he could be. There was a tug on his chest that surprised him, making him begin to wonder, _'This feeling...could it be sadness?'_

Kiba was the only one grinning at the scene. But that was just because he was a prideful individual and kept his tears in by grinning so wide he had to close his eyes; an excuse only he and his dog companion, Akamaru knew of.

Naruto spoke up again, his voice shaken by the torrent of sobs accumulating in his throat, _"S-So...*sob* it's really...ugh, a goodbye, huh? *sniffle*"_

Peter held his composure, trying his damnest not to cry. He, too, took pride of himself; in his case, him being the elder male should put up a strong example for the others. Or, at least, that was what he believed. _"Nah, it's not goodbye."_ He said, trying to cheer the blond up a bit by sounding carefree, _"It's a 'see ya later' kind of thing. Big difference, there."_

This time, Naruto turned around, showing Peter the tears that were streaming down his cheeks. If it weren't for the situation, Peter would've laughed and took a picture of a crying, snot-nosed Naruto just to blackmail him later on. But he wasn't an idiot; at least, not that kind. So, he kept silent, and stared at Naruto to hear what he had to say.

However, as he stared, he also noticed the picking up of the winds. He turned around, trying to find what he knew brought the gale of wind. He saw nothing, but smiled nonetheless knowing what brought this predicament. He smiled, 'Right on time.' Flying high in the sky, was the X-jet with its cloaking device being slowly deactivated and made it look like a transparent plane. It flew down towards his direction, then hovered just behind him, blowing his hair and the cloth of his forehead protector wildly. As the cloaking deactivated completely, it showed the whole audience a big, black, metal plane with the basic design of a Blackbird.

Awed gasps and shocked-filled eyes were thrown by the Rookies. Peter grinned, and was just getting ready to brag about the jet when he noticed that Naruto wasn't affected by the jet's arrival. So instead, he kept his mouth shut and waited for Naruto to say something.

"_Will you, *hic*, will you ever come back again?"_ Naruto finally asked, his forearms furiously rubbing his eye as if to stop the leaking tears. His hair was swayed by the wind that the X-jet brought, and so did the black cloth of his forehead protector.

Peter grinned, _"Of course I will! Like I said, it's a 'see ya later'. After all, you should know better, Naruto..."_ Peter pointed his thumb and touched the metal plate of his _hitai-ate_; the edges of his thumb somehow landed on the Konoha symbol engraved on it, and smiled widely, _"The moment I wear this thing on my head, I am and ALWAYS be a shinobi of Konohagakure!"_

The tone that Peter used as he declared himself a Konoha shinobi, wasn't even close to the tone someone would use to stand his ground and declare his position. It wasn't a steely resolve, since Peter's voice was shaking. It wasn't a prideful boast like how Naruto constantly used every time he screamed out his dream, because the voice was shaking because Peter himself couldn't believe it, either. It wasn't even close to a declaration, since he was crying when he said so.

It wasn't a declaration. Peter was being grateful of the fact that these people; the ninjas of Konoha, accepted him in their ranks, as their ally. It was an acceptance of a fact.

Naruto sniffed as he rubbed his eyes one last time, and with all the brightness he could muster, he grinned, _"Yes, you are!"_ He suddenly pointed his finger at Peter, catching him off-guard, _"And I promise you, that when you get back, I'll be this Konohagakure's Hokage!"_

Peter blinked. The next thing that happened was that he laughed, so openly and happily that it dried out his tears, _"Really, now? I'm afraid that'll be too hard of a promise to accomplish, though."_

"_No, it isn't! I promise you, and I don't go back on my words!"_ Naruto yelled, the finger pointing at Peter balling and clenched into a fist as he kept it pointed at the brunette, _"That's my nindo, my ninja way!"_

There was a humor that Peter picked up from this predicament. It seemed that Naruto thought that he'd be gone for a long time, so long that the blond would be Hokage by the time he returned. Peter had the urge to correct him, but the child inside him stopped him, 'Let's see how he could take being trolled.' He thought.

"_Then it's a promise."_ Peter said, _"And if you don't keep it, then, Sakura!"_

Once again, Sakura was caught off-guard as she heard her name being called. However, she rubbed her eyes to clear the tears and yelled back, _"What is it?!"_

"_If Naruto breaks his promise, then he'll pay my debt to you!"_

It took the pink-haired girl a few moments to grasp the meaning of Peter's words. And when those moments passed, she giggled, which quickly turned into a laugh, _"Hahahaha! Okay, you got it!"_

Meanwhile, Naruto had a pathetic look on his face as he looked at Peter, _"You're a sick bastard, you know that?"_

Peter shrugged, _"Takes one to know one."_ He said off-handedly. Then, reluctantly, he turned around and jumped to the awaiting ramp that the hovering X-jet was lowering. As he landed on the ramp, he turned around and gave his newfound friends one last smile.

"_See ya!"_ He said, grinning even though a fresh batch of tears streamed down his cheeks.

His sight might be blurred by tears, but he swore he saw the Rookies rushing forward to make one big crowd. And the voice that they made was loud enough, it echoed, _"See you soon!"_

Thus, the parade ended. But as it ended, a new book shall be opened. After all, the web-slinger made a promise, didn't he? He'll come back.

That's a promise.

**xoxoxo  
>xoxoxo<strong>

_New York City, 5 hours later..._

The flight was boring, if anything. There wasn't much to do except for turning the cloaking device on and off, which got old pretty fast.

Which was why Peter felt overjoyed when he arrived at his destination. When he took a peek from the pilot's window, though, he frowned in confusion, "This isn't the airport..." He mused out loud. The Japanese translator seal wasn't used in his speech, because he intended to speak it in English. He shook his head, pressing a button on the pilot's dashboard, "Computer, why are you bringing me too close to Lady Liberty's ass?"

There was several beeping sound before the AI that ran the jet answered, **"Our destination is close. We just need to pass Liberty Island and land on the clearing 50 meters in our 12 o'clock."**

"I thought you're supposed to go back to the mansion." Peter said.

"**I am, but Master Logan ordered my service to be limited only to take you here."**

"Cheap bastard." Peter muttered, "Always the sour guy, eh? Well, no biggie, I'll take a cab."

As the jet landed on a clearing that was near the sea surrounding New York City's coast, Peter jumped off from the ramp. On cue, the jet took off again and automatically activated its cloaking device. Peter sighed, "I can't seem to figure out why Logan could be such a prick sometimes." He looked at the road not too far from him and searched for a taxi, "Now, if I could just find a cab...huh?" Peter looked up and saw that the sky's color was...odd, "That's funny. Was it suppose to be so cloudy today? And I thought the sky is blue, not this kind of blood re—"

"NOO! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!"

"Well, damn." Peter muttered, "Someone's in trouble." He ran towards the source of voice. He saw a large gathering of people, some with a camera on their hands while other seemed to be reporters and their cameramen. Peter frowned, but his attention soon turned to the sky above when he saw a flying man with dark indigo hair who wore a dark choice of clothes, black devilish wings portruding from his back, carrying a young woman in his arms. "The hell? Just a month without me and the town's being overrun by gay-looking vampires?"

He walked closer to a female reporter, then asked, "Excuse me, but what's happening here?"

"One moment, please." The reporter said, clearly giving too much attention to the shouldered camera her cameraman was carrying. She raised the microphone in her right hand to her mouth, beginning the report, "This is Carly Jefferson, reporting live from the Lady Liberty lookout area. As you have noticed, it's week 3 without Spiderman around and criminals have began to rise in numbers." Peter winced after hearing that, but the reporter continued, "We are now in the vicinity of one super-villain; a vampire who calls himself Morbius. Morbius has been on a bloodlust rampage these past few days, and is marked as a dangerous villain. Even now, he had just caught another one of his 'preys' and is getting ready to do who-knows-what. People, please remain in your homes. And parents, please keep your children safe. This is Carly Jefferson, live on the scene."

The reporter sighed and ran her free hand through her black hair. She turned to Peter, "I'm sorry, what was it you wanted to say?"

"Err, nothing. You've practically answered my question by doing your report." Peter said, sweat-dropping.

"O...kay." The reporter awkwardly said before turning to her cameraman, "George, I think we're finished here. We better pack before that vampire decides to take one of u—"

TWHIP!

The reporter blinked, and turned around as she was sure that source of "twhipping" sound was behind her. She knew that sound; it's very clear to her who could've made that, "Spiderman...?"

Suddenly, the crowd cheered and yelled happily. Carly turned around when someone said, "It's him! He's back! Spiderman's back!" The man pointed his finger towards the sky where a figure wearing what could be described as a green coat swung while holding a web line. She gasped in surprise, "Isn't that the guy from earlier?"

Peter, in the middle of his swing, scowled deeply, "Aw, great. My costume's torn off as well as my mask, and I don't have anything to cover my face with. Except..." He let go of his web line, shot another one out of his left wrist while his right hand rummaged his right pocket, "Bingo!" He let out as he pulled his Konoha _hitai-ate_.

"Now, if I could just put this over my face..." He said, letting go of his web line and clung to a skyscraper building. He was just trying to find a way to cover his face with the forehead protector when a dark-clothed, pale-skinned figure bulleted towards him with great speed. "Holy...!" Peter let out as he wall-jumped his way out of his previous position, which was obliterated by the figure's punch, sending shards of glass flying.

"Just wait a second, will you?! I'm trying to cover my face here!" Peter yelled out, rather comically. He grumbled before yelling out, "AAAH! TO HELL WITH THIS!"

A moment of silence from him, then when that moment passed, he shot a web line to swing himself to another building. He landed gracefully, but his attention was to a blonde woman being bound to a TV antenna with some kind of cloth. At the sight of the woman's torn clothing, he realized that they were pieces of her green shirt. "Good day, lady. I assume you're in need of a helping hand, right now?"

"W-Who are you?" The woman asked nervously. Peter blinked, realizing that covering his face with his _hitai-ate_ in a manner only a robber or a gangster would use was a bad idea. He cleared his throat, "Well, I may look different, but I'm Spider—"

The floor behind him burst upwards as Morbius flew up through it. Peter had seen him coming through his spider-sense, and out of reaction, he pointed his wrist to Morbius's face and...proceeded to blast web into his open mouth. Morbius, not expecting the attack, gagged—GAGGED!—as he tried to breath. Peter laughed an evil laugh, "Yeaaahh, have a taste of my home-made natural spider web, you Twilight epic fail!"

The woman, who was held hostage, sweat-dropped (hey, in my story, Americans can do sweat-drops, too!) at the scene. It was actually pretty funny to see a super-villain gagging and rolling on the ground just trying to breath while the super-hero was cackling madly as if **he** was the super-villain. Shaking her head, the woman cleared her throat before speaking, "Um, excuse me! I need some help over here!"

Peter stopped his laughing instantly and sheepishly scratched the back of his head, "Oh, right." He walked up towards her and proceeded to rip the cloth binding off with his hands, "There, all done."

The woman rubbed her bruised wrists and looked up at Peter, "So it **is** you, Spiderman." She said, taking notice that he had just shot web out of his wrist, "Where have you been? Super-villains were running over the town since your disappearance."

Peter chuckled nervously, "Sorry. I got too caught up in my vacation and kinda forgot to come back here."

The woman pouted, but soon her face contorted in fear when she saw that Morbius was tearing the webbing in his mouth, coughing it up, **"Enough!"** He bellowed, his voice malevolent, **"I will not let you take my bride! She's mine!"**

"Not to be a jerk for ruining your wedding or anything, but vampires should date vampire chicks." Peter said, waving his hands in front of him as if to calm the vampire down. He rolled his eyes when he spoke again, "The last time I watched a vampire marry a human chick, it didn't go so well."

"You're talking about Twilight to a real-life vampire?" The woman beside him asked, amused by Peter's carefree tone as he—as Spiderman, in her eyes—talked to the vampire, "Talk about irony."

Morbius's eyes glowed red; not just his pupils, but his eyes as a whole. Peter flinched at the sight, being reminded of a certain Jinchuuriki's Bijuu transformation, but shook of his sudden shock with a chuckle, "Someone's pissed." He muttered, careful not to be heard by Morbius but at the same time being certain to make it hearable for the hostage woman beside him so that she wouldn't get so tense.

"**Give me back my bride." **Morbius said, seething with anger at the strange man in front of him, **"She'll be my 50th bride I shall take this year. With it, I, Morbius, shall retain part of my immortality! Don't stand in my way!"**

Peter's eyes widened in horror. He wished that his ears had deceived him, but no, he heard it right. Fiftieth...that means 49 people were killed...by this monster? He trembled; did this happen while he was away? A casualty this big is... 'This guy...killed 49 people while I was still in Konoha?' Peter clenched his fist. Guilt overcame him before anger washed it away. 'No...I have to stop this here.' He turned to the blonde beside him, "Grab on. We're getting out of here." He crouched down, positioning himself to give a piggyback ride for the woman.

"Wha—are you serious?! I don't let anyone else other than my boyfriend touch me!" The blonde woman protested.

"Hey, do you want to go or do you want to be Count Dracula's dearest?" Peter asked, his tone not actually giving her any option, "Because personally, I won't let anyone die by this asshole's hands anymore!"

The blonde woman flinched as she heard the statement. She swore that she heard a growl escaping Peter's mouth. It seemed that he's serious, so she reluctantly jumped to his back and held on to him. Coincidentally, her nose met her saviour's brown hair and unconciously, she breathed a scent from it. She imprinted in her mind, the fact that Spiderman is a brunette. She was lucky he didn't wear his mask.

Peter's eyes glared at Morbius's blood-red ones, a growl emanating from the former's throat. "Hang on." He warned as he grabbed the woman's legs and proceeded to jump down from the building they were on. Morbius snarled, **"YOU WON'T ESCAPE!" **He roared as he spread his wings and chased the two. Peter glanced at Morbius, noticing that the vampire was picking up speed due to his wings. "I don't have much choice..." He said, "Hey, lady, it's gonna be a rough ride, so hang on!"

"As if I weren't holding on since the beginni—AH!" She was cut off as Peter made a sharp swing to the side, towards yet another skyscraper. The blonde tightened her hold on Peter, nearly choking him as she did so, but her attention was on Peter's hands which had released their hold on the web line and were shaping a strange cross-fingered seal, "What are you doing?"

"Initiating an escape plan, so please cooperate with me." Peter said, grinning under the cloth of his _hitai-ate_. Then, for the first time since he left the land of ninjas, he called out, _"Kagebunshin no Jutsu!"_

At first, the blonde woman on his back didn't get what he said; it sounded strange, and she realized it was a foreign language. However, she was further shocked when puffs of smoke covered them in mid-air and when it cleared, several doppelgangers of her saviour appeared, each wearing the same clothing. She then heard the brunette say, "Alright! Everyone, split up! One of you take this lady and take her to someplace safe!"

"ROGER!" All the clones answered like trained soldiers. Immediately, the blonde woman felt herself being taken away by one of the clones and deviate from the original's path. They hid in the shadows of an alleyway as the other Spidermen flew pass them and broke through the windows of the skyscrapers in front of them, being followed closely by Morbius. The Spiderman who was carrying her sighed in relief before slowly getting the two of them down by wall-crawling. When they touched the ground, Peter exhaled a breath he just realized he had been holding, and turned to the blonde woman, "Okay, you should be safe around here." He said, turning his head to look left and right, "You better go hide somewhere else. Join a crowd or something, and avoid being detected by that vampire."

"What about you?" The blonde asked worriedly.

The Peter-clone chuckled, "Hey, I'm a super-hero! I work like this all the time." He turned away, getting ready to join the others, "Now go. Hiding here won't keep him from finding yo—" He was cut off when the blonde surprisingly came up to him and pressed her lips on his, with his _hitai-ate_ being the only thing that separated them. He froze, even as the blonde finally let go after a while. She smirked, "A thank you for saving me. I might have a boyfriend, but you're still my hero, Spiderman."

Suddenly dazed, the clone blanked and fell to the ground with swirls in his eyes. The blonde was about to check on him when he suddenly went "poof" in a cloud of smoke.

Inside the skyscraper, Peter, who was dodging another one of Morbius's claw attack while , flinched. 'Somehow, I get the feeling that MJ's gonna kill me.' He thought as he jumped back from another attack. He was fighting Morbius in what seemed to be an office, and when he saw another window behind him, he ran straight towards it and broke through it just like he did when he first got there. Angered, Morbius gave a roar and took flight once again.

"**Insolent insect! Where have you taken my bride?! You'll pay for defying me!" **As he said this, Morbius became covered by a dark aura as he flew towards a web-swinging Peter, speeding up. When he got close to him, Morbius used his wings and claws to slice and dice the brunette and left him as nothing but a bloody mess. However, just as Morbius thought he had finished the nuisance, said nuisance turned into a puff of smoke, **"What?!"**

"_Yare, yare_ (Well, well)...you're pretty good, I give you that." A voice said. Morbius looked up and saw Peter standing on a water tank, assuming battle stance with his left hand in the front while his right one was further back. Once again, Morbius bursted in a shroud of dark energy and bulleted towards Peter. He was confident that another attack on the brunette would definitely kill him. Big mistake.

"_But..."_ Peter said, his tongue once again moving in Japanese dialect. He pulled up his right hand, revealing a swirling orb of chakra with lightning bolts shooting out of it. He smirked at the vampire, who had a shocked expression on his face, _"I wonder about the next one?"_

End of Chapter 26

**xoxoxo**

**Finally...I'm finished. Finally, this giant of 26 chapters, is FINISHED! Hell YEAH! I couldn't be prouder of myself, finishing my first fic like this...*sob* now I know how Lee felt when he made Chuunin.**

**Naruto: Exactly, how DID Lee felt when he made Chuunin? It wasn't in the manga.  
>Me: I believe he felt exactly like me!<br>Naruto: You're giving yourself too much credit.  
>Sakura: Naruto, behave! SpinLord just finished his very first fanfic; he's supposed to feel like this!<br>Naruto: R-Right! Anyway, congrats, Spin! Any idea when are you going to start the next story arc?  
>Me: To be frank, I still don't know.<br>Peter: Well, you better hurry. I'm curious to what you'll have me do next time. Oh, oh, maybe kick Sasuke in the nuts as a payback!  
>Sasuke: I heard that.<br>Peter: EEP! Emo alert!  
>Me: Alright, that's quite enough (sweat-drops)<strong>

**Yes, readers, finishing this fic took its toll on me. And I still have other fics that I need to finish. Please bear with me, though, as I can assure you that I will do my best to continue writing this trilogy as soon as I can! Believe it!**

**By the way, did any of you noticed that I had just created a three-way crossover? You know, by inserting Yoshino and Masaru? You...do know who they are, right? If you do, then congrats, and here's a cybernetic cookie for you !(::) Those two are from the Digimon Savers series (or, as Wikipedia said it, Digimon Data Squad). Yep, I'm such an evil person who likes to tease a lot, hehe :p They'll play a great part in the story, so heads up.**

**And of course, there was the goodbye parade. Yes, if you noticed that I also inserted the Devil Bat Ghost technique there, you get DOUBLE CYBER COOKIES! (::) (::)  
>As you all know, that's the same Devil Bat Ghost that Kobayakawa Sena of Eyeshield 21 uses in the series. I also took the Daylight reference from the same manga, as well, and I plan for Peter's vision of the Daylight path to be used again in this story. Again, I'm sooo evil NUFUFUFU!<strong>

_Glossary:_

_Oyasuminasai_: A form of greeting. Translates to "Have some sleep", probably, but used as a "good night" kind of greeting; usually used when tucking someone in.

**Also, it's official! Spiderman's version of Rasengan already has a new name! As I said before, Rasraichi doesn't literally mean anything other than something about lychee and stuff. So, here's a slight jutsu description:**

_Rasen Inazu_ (Spiral Lightning):- Spiderman's jutsu, which was actually an altered version of _Rasengan_ when he failed to learn it completely from Naruto. It differs from the original Rasengan; while it's true that _Rasen Inazu_ still has the concept of _Rasengan_, which is the main sphere of swirling chakra, it shoots out unstable bolts of lightning rather than gusts of wind. It's because Spiderman automatically inserted Raibi's chakra—a thing he couldn't control. Thus, the _Rasen Inazu_ is born. It's on par with _Rasengan_ in terms of power, but like Spiderman had once said, it lacks in effectiveness and chakra effeciency.

**So...I guess this is it, huh? Honestly, I've grown kinda attached to this story, and it saddens me to close it so soon. But, fear not, I shall return with an even more epic story!**

**Sakura: So please be on the lookout!  
>Naruto: And keep reading!<br>Me: And leave reviews!**

**This is SpinLord...spinning out.**


	28. Epilogue

**Y'all think I'm gonna leave it just like that? HAH! If there is one thing I don't do, is to leave a story without a cliffy cliffhanger! :D So here it is; Arachnid Hero and the Fox Host Epilogue!**

_Review Reply_

BOBOBOBO: Uber-thanks to you! :D It's a shame you don't know much about Digimon, but I assure you that it won't really matter when I start the second arc. Oh, and I'm glad that you notice that Vocaloid part ;D It's good to know that someone agrees.

**xoxoxo**

Epilogue

Lightning Strikes Twice

"_Aaah...a sunny day out, eh? Somehow, though, I feel kinda tired."_ Said one Kamizuki Izumo as he lazily put his head on his folded arms, which were lazily propped on the guard table.

"_Tell me about it."_ His partner and fellow guard, Hagane Kotetsu, agreed, _"I wonder, when will Hokage-sama give us back our cards?"_

"_A month after this, if we're lucky."_ Izuma said, sighing. His hand travelled underneath the table and pulled on a drawer, revealing a shogi board in it, _"But the good news is we still have board games."_ He said, grinning as if his earlier laziness didn't exist. _"You up for a round?"_

"_Meh, why not? We got some time to kill, anyway."_ Kotetsu said, moving his chair a bit so that it was positioned across Izumo. He smirked confidently at his Chuunin partner, _"You better watch out, though. I'm no Shikamaru, but I can kick your ass for at least 10 rounds after we start!"_

"_Cocky, much? Let's see how'd you like it when I paint a frown on your ugly bandaged face!"_

"_Bring it on, ya brown-haired virgin!"_

"_Okay, don't go there."_

"_Right."_ Kotetsu nodded quickly, realizing that he just crossed a boundary that Izumo had once set up. Izumo grumbled as he set the shogi pieces, still sore after his spiky-haired partner's jab of his pride. So, okay, he's not the ladies' man kind of guy, but didn't need nor want to be reminded about that!

"_Wait..."_ Izumo said, his eyes staring at the board. His hands had stopped moving when he was almost finished setting the pieces. He frowned, observing the shogi board thoroughly, realizing one odd detail, _"Something's wrong here."_ Kotetsu raised his eyebrow curiously, finding his partner's behavior kind of weird, _"What is it?"_

Izumo raised his head and looked scrunitingly at the other Chuunin, _"Where's Keima?"_

Kotetsu blinked. He leaned forward to look at the board himself, and counted each pieces one by one. When realization came to him that his side's _Keima_ (Knight piece) wasn't there, he groaned, _"Argh, COME ON! We've got this game, this ONE game, and the pieces aren't even complete! Why the hell isn't it complete?! Darn it!"_ He ranted. Izumo sweated at his life-time partner's obvious stress, and laughed nervously as he tried to calm him down, _"N-Now, now, Kotetsu, calm down. Don't get worked up over one game."_

"_How could I calm down when it's the only game we have?!"_

"_Well, there's this other game. Hey, it's a board game, too!"_ Izumo exclaimed in joy. He held up a brown wooden board which had some kind of engraving on it. There was a title engraving on the center, and Izumo tried to read it, _"It's in romaji rather than in hiragana, so it should be a western board game. It's, uh...Ju...manji?"_

"_Ah, who cares what it's called!"_ Kotetsu exclaimed, paying little to no attention to what the board game was called, _"It's a game! So let's play it!"_

"_Sheesh, okay, okay."_ Izumo, terribly unaware of the horrors of Jumanji, moved his hand to open it. Now, if he opens it, we all know what kind of massacre would happen in Konoha. Of course, if we count in the killer mosquitoes, the rampaging monkeys, the lion, the crazed hunter, the animal stampede and much more, it would be Konoha's greatest downfall. And it would be all the fault of two oblivious Chuunin.

However, Fate was kind enough to prevent that from happening. Before any of the two gate guards could open the board game, they were stopped when they heard someone coming through the gate. How could they actually **hear** someone **coming**? Well...the newcomers weren't that silent, themselves. However, what Kotetsu and Izumo caught are only their voices, as the newcomers were talking in a language they didn't understand.

"_Hey, Izumo, we got company."_ Kotetsu said, warning his friend about the newcomers' presence.

"_As if I haven't notice, yet!"_ Izumo exclaimed, _"Let's greet them, then."_

Kotetsu nodded. Then, both he and Izumo body-flickered themselves out of the guard's post and appeared in front of the newcomers. Their sudden appearance must've surprised them, since one of them elicited a feminine squeal out of surprise. Kotetsu, priding himself of having to be the a gate guard, put his game face on and eyed them with a serious expression, _"State your name and business in this village."_ He said, mouthing each words with the fluency of a rehearsed role player.

However, instead of the response he expected, Kotetsu received a laugh from the person beside the one who squealed earlier, _"This again? I thought we're already over this."_

Kotetsu blinked in response; the comment caught him off-guard, _"Excuse me?_" He observed the stranger carefully. Judging by the voice and built, the person is a man. He wore a plain green robe that Kotetsu had seen several travellers wore for the sake of protecting themselves from dusts and strong winds. There was clothing under the robe, but it wasn't that discernable. The man wore a pair of loose blue jeans on his legs, and surprisingly, he also wore a pair of ninja sandals. He had a wide straw hat on his head that hid his face, making him look even more mysterious.

Then the stranger seemed to talk to his companion in hushed voices. This other stranger was nearly the same height as the first one, but the stranger was slightly shorter and had a smaller built. Judging by the hourglass frame of the body, the guards assumed that the second stranger is a woman. This woman's clothing wasn't that different from the man beside her; the only differences Kotetsu and Izumo could see being the cream-colored pants she wore which was more form-fitting, and the high-heeled sandals she wore for her feet. Heck, she even wore the same kind of straw hat, though at least she let her long red hair stay visible.

The man looked like he was trying to calm the woman down, judging by the worried tone the red-haired woman was using when she talked to the man. The man seemed thankful when he finally managed to calm her down, however slightly.

Kotetsu cleared his throat, _"Ahem. We'll be glad if you would be so kind to elaborate what you meant. I don't believe we've met before."_

"_Aw, now you're just hurting my feelings."_ The male stranger said, making Kotetsu cringe at the disgustingly sweet tone he was using, _"Perhaps this hat is in the way. Darn it, I shouldn't have listened to that old man's advice to buy this thing!"_ The stranger took his hat off, revealing his face and the fact that he is a brunette. The woman beside him also took her hat off, and proved that Kotetsu was right when he thought that the woman was a redhead.

However, his and Izumo's attention was to the male stranger's face. He looked damn familiar, bu they couldn't put their finger on it. _"Hey, Kotetsu...we've seen this guy somewhere, right?"_ Izumo asked, voicing his confusion.

"_Yeah, but where—"_ Kotetsu stopped himself when a memory came forth in his mind. It seemed that the same happened to Izumo, because he, too, suddenly froze.

"_Y-You're...!"_

The two guards' shocked expression was enough to bring out a laugh from the red-haired woman. Once again, she spoke to the brown-haired man next to her in that foreign language that they didn't understand.

However, being the generous author I am (not to brag, but...), I'll write down exactly what the woman said. The woman, still laughing, said to the man next to her, "Tiger, I think you scared them shitless."

"Really?" The brunette asked in the same language, amused, "These two? Scared? Of their very own friendly neighbour?"

End of Epilogue

**xoxoxo**

**Told you I like to tease ;P**


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